A Shinobi's True Calling
by Shotokan
Summary: When Akatsuki return for Naruto with a new member, Tobi, coincedences drive Kakashi to uncover a secret about him that will change his life forever, and everything he thought he knew to be true, which forces Tobi to do some soul searching as well.
1. Chapter 1: The bonds that bind

A Shinobi's True Calling

**A/N: This is my first time at writing a Naruto story. This involves mainly Kakashi and the mysterious Tobi from Akatsuki. It also has Naruto, Sakura, and even Sasuke. This event has taken place after the two year time skip. The beginning may sound boring to some but it will get better. I'm trying to add a part with Sasuke and Orochimaru but I'm unsure of it. I may change it but give me your views on it if it appeals to you or not. It'll help me a lot if you do. Review and let me know what you think. Give me ideas about how to make it better. As I'm my worst critic, I want to know if this is good. Enjoy Naruto fans )**

The grass swayed with the wind as it blew across the land. Kakashi's hair followed the cool summer's breeze as he stood with Rin and his sensei, konoha's yellow flash, the future fourth hokage.

He tapped his foot impatiently. "He's late again. He's always late."

"Calm down, Kakashi, he'll be here soon." His sensei said.

"How hard can it be to come on time? We should leave without him." Kakashi said.

"No, Kakashi. We do this mission as a team and you know that." His sensei said.

"Obito may never show up on time but he's someone you can rely on." Rin said.

Kakashi sighed as he gazed up at the sky. The clouds were moving slowly by. His attention was suddenly focused on the rapid foot steps coming towards them. He stood there for he knew exactly who it was.

Obito ran up to the group panting and fell to his knees out of breath. "Did I just make it in time?"

"No, Obito. You're late again." Kakashi said. "You're so pathetic, Obito. Why can't you be like other ninja and be on time?"

"I'm sick of you always looking down on me, Kakashi! I'm an Uchiha, and once I activate my sharingan, I will surpass you!" Obito said confidently.

"Don't count on it." Kakashi said coldly as he turned away.

Obito clenched his fist in anger. Kakashi had always been better than him, even in the simplest of tasks, and he was determined to beat his rival once and for all. He was going to show Kakashi that they were both equal.

"Alright you two, that's enough. Gather around, I'm going to explain the mission." Their sensei said. "Now," He began, "As you know, we are going to be entering the rock village through the grass country. There we are to destroy the bridge."

"Sensei, because I'm a jounin, can I lead the team?" Kakashi asked.

"Very well, Kakashi. And because of your promotion, I have a gift for you." Their sensei said. He pulled and odd shaped kunai. "This is a special weapon. It's a little heavier than normal kunai's but you'll get used to it."

"I have something for you too." Rin said taking out a medical kit from her bag.

Kakashi turned to Obito with his hand outstretched.

"What? I didn't bring you anything you hear? I brought you nothing!" Obito said in anger.

Kakashi turned his attention to his other teammates. "Thank you." He said.

"Ok, Kakashi, you'll lead the team and I'll go on ahead, but I'll be close by."

All three ninja's nodded their heads as their sense sped ahead. They ventured far into the grass land when they were attacked by two rock ninja. One ninja attacked Obito while the other kidnapped Rin. Kakashi stood in front of Obito and got his eye cut badly in the process. The other ninja disappeared.

"Rin, we have to go after her, Kakashi!"" Obito cried.

"No. We must stick to the mission. Emotions are unnecessary things. They'll get in the way if all you think about is Rin. We have to destroy the bridge."

"You don't believe that, do you?"

Kakashi only stared silently back.

Obito lowered his eyes. "Those who disobey the rules are scum that's true, but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum. I'm going after her." Obito ran off to find his comrade.

Kakashi chased after him, knowing we wouldn't turn back. They eventually found Rin in a cave but where attacked by an invisible rock ninja. Obito cried in fear, unsure of what to do. He eventually managed to pull himself together and focus until he was finally able to activate his sharingan, allowing him to see their invisible attacker. He got behind the enemy and managed to kill him with his kunai. They untied Rin, thankful she was safe, but a rock ninja used a jutsu called earth release: rock lodging destruction, causing the cave to crumble in an attempt to kill the shinobi.

"We have to get out of here!" Kakashi yelled as rocks began falling from the ceiling.

The three ninja ran for their lives but Kakashi was hit by a rock, knocking him down hard on the ground. Obito saw a massive rock falling down towards his friend. He quickly pushed Kakashi out of the way, the large boulder crushing him instead of Kakashi. When he got up, he saw Obito's entire ride side crushed underneath the boulder.

"Obito!" Rin and Kakashi called out together.

"Obito!" Kakashi said trying to pull him out. Kakashi's voice faded away into darkness.

Kakashi sprang forward, sweat dripping down his face. He wiped the seat away with his hand and got out of bed. He walked over to a mirror, gazing at his own reflection. He slowly lifted his head band up which always concealed his left sharingan eye. He spent a few moments looking at the eye Obito had given him as a present, admitting that he had forgotten to get him one for his promotion to Jounin. He remembered Obito's final words well before he died; His sharingan would help Rin and Kakashi live on after he was gone. Kakashi closed his eyes, the painful memory playing like a movie in his mind. For days he blamed himself for Obito's death, even though Obito reassured him it wasn't his fault. He quoted his sensei's words in his mind.

Flash back

Kakashi stood at the rock monument in memory of those who had died during a mission. His sensei walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"I know how you feel, Kakashi. My friend's names are on this rock too. It's hard, but it'll make you stronger. Don't blame yourself for Obito's death. You couldn't have saved him."

"But I was always hard on him. If I hadn't gotten hit by that rock he wouldn't have had to sacrifice himself."

"But it did. It would have happened to one of you. You should be thankful, Kakashi. You're alive because of him. He sacrificed his life so you could live. You're lucky to be alive."

Kakashi bowed his head, desperately trying to fight back the tears welling in his eyes.

"You know, you can learn something from his death, and you can even be changed by it. Obito will live on, even in death."

Kakashi looked at his sensei in the eye, a single tear rolled down his cheek. His sensei faced him now.

"Most ninja die for their village everyday. Although this brings honour to the village, to die for a friend brings even greater honour, and makes the bond of friendship stronger." He was now smiling at Kakashi. 'I know it's hard to understand now, but someday you will.' He thought

The memory faded away as Kakashi opened his eyes. He walked over to his bed where there stood two pictures. The first one was taken when Kakashi was thirteen. In the picture stood the future fourth hokage, Rin, Obito, and Kakashi. The other picture showed team 7 with Kakashi, Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto. He reminisced for a moment, noting his personal change from the past to now. He gazed at the clock on the wall. Seven O'clock. He got dressed and headed out in the cold morning air to the memorial rock.

"Well old friend, it's another new day. But this day is different, isn't it? I haven't forgotten this day, not once."

Although Kakashi always remembered this day, he wrote it on the calendar regardless, for today was the day that marked fifteen years since Obito's death. It was on this day that Kakshi stayed longer than usual, causing much frustration on his waiting students. He glanced at his watch. He had stood here for an hour. He never really liked coming here because it reminded him of his foolish old self, but came everyday for Obito's sake. He decided to leave and supervise Naruto's training so that he would be prepared to defend himself when the members from Akatsuki came.


	2. Chapter 2: Journey to the sand village!

He walked over to the training ground number four while reading Icha Icha Paradise. There he saw Naruto practicing throwing shuriken's and kunai's in the middle of the block. His aim had increased greatly over the two years. Naruto turned around when he saw Kakashi.

"Ah, Kakashi sensei, what are you doing here?" Naruto asked.

"Well I was taking a walk and I thought I'd supervise your training a little bit." Kakashi said.

"Great! I can't wait to see what new techniques you'll teach me!"

"Uh, right, well let's start with the basics. I want you to aim for the top of that tree there." Kakashi said pointing to a tree that was a yard away.

"But, Kakashi, I've already learned how to do this." Naruto whined.

"Just do it, ok?" Kakashi asked.

"Alright, here I go!" Naruto picked up five shuriken's and kunai's in each hand and jumped high into the air. Spinning around he threw the weapons at the top of the tree. There was a loud thump as the weapons hit the trunk.

"Alright now let's see how well you did, shall we?" Kakashi said walking up to the designated tree.

"Why bother? I'll bet I hit with all of them at the top." Naruto said confidently with his hands behind his head.

"Hmm you didn't do as well as you thought, Naruto."

"What?" Naruto said wide eyed with his jaw dropped. "That's impossible! I've been practicing hitting all my targets for weeks, believe it!"

"Well it looks like you need to practice hitting targets that are much further away." Kakashi said.

Naruto grunted in frustration. 'I've got to perfect my aim if I'm going to become hokage one day.' He thought to himself.

'Not bad. His aim's gotten much better. Only five shuriken's missed the top. He's advancing quickly, just like…'

"I've really improved a lot, haven't I, Kakashi sensei?" Naruto said.

"Huh? Yes, you've improved a bit, but you've got some perfecting to do, as always." Kakashi said smiling.

"I knew it! Look out, Sasuke! Soon I'll surpass you!" Naruto said raising his arms in the air.

"But you've got a way to go yet before catching up with Sasuke."

Naruto lowered his arms. 'Sasuke, he was always better than me. Everyone admired him.' He thought, remembering all the contests they held against each other.

'Those two always reminded me of Obito and me and how we used to always fight.' Kakashi thought, although he never told Naruto or Sasuke, not even Sakura.

"I've also been working on my rasengan stronger."

"Oh? Well let's see it then. Try splitting that large rock by the water fall."

Naruto began building his chakra in his hand by spinning his free hand to make a swirling sphere. When he built up enough chakra he held it tightly in his hand and ran at full speed towards the rock.

"Rasengan!" He yelled as he outstretched his arm. He put all of his effort into the rock causing a powerful burst of rock and dust.

When the dust settled Naruto stood hunched over, panting from the attack. He stood straight as he saw that his attack blew halfway into the rock. He grinned at his success.

"Impressive. You didn't get through the whole rock, but you came pretty close. From the looks of it, your rasengan is about as strong as Sasuke's chidori, or close to it." Kakashi said walking up. "It is, after all, your strongest attack. You've come a long way, Naruto."

Naruto smiled at the thought of impressing Kakashi. "So are you going to teach me stronger attacks now?"

"Not today. I've got some work to do." Kakashi said leaving in a cloud of smoke.

'Yeah, right, he's probably going to try to finish that book I gave him.' Naruto thought. He continued to train.

'Hmm Naruto's chakra has gotten stronger, even though he can use the nine tailed fox's.' Kakashi thought as he walked through the streets while reading his book.

Flashback

Kakashi and Jiraiya walked side by side through the streets of Konoha.

"Kakashi," Jiraiya said. "Before I leave you with Naruto, there's something I need to tell you."

Kakashi looked up at Jiraiya from his book. "Is it about the nine tailed fox?" He asked.

"Yes. As you already know, as Naruto has two chakras inside him, his own blue chakra and the nine tailed fox's red chakra, when he is angry or runs out of his own chakra, the nine tails chakra takes over him and slightly transforms him."

"Yes." Kakashi said still looking up.

"This can send Naruto out of control, even though he is able to control the other chakra, the more he uses it, the worse it becomes, and the harder he is to control. Naruto's transformations could cause him to grow tails. He has already, but his transformations could carry him to have nine. If this happens, no one will be safe. The fox will have a chance to gain full control, and we can't let that happen."

"So what do you suggest I do should that happen?"

"I've found a seal. I want to teach you in order to prevent it from happening." Jiraiya showed Kakashi the rolled up scroll. "Meet me at training ground four tomorrow at noon and I'll show it to you."

Kakashi nodded as Jiraiya disappeared in a cloud of smoke. He looked down at his book once again.

End flashback

Kakashi remembered how it took him less than a week to learn the seal. He kept it in his vest pocket should the need arise.

Suddenly Ebisu appeared in front of Kakashi.

"Sorry to bother you, Kakashi, but Tsunade has asked me to gather you, Naruto, and Sakura to her office immediately. I've already let Naruto and Sakura know."

"Alright, I'll be there in a few minutes." Kakashi said leaving.

Ebisu left for Tsunade's office as well.

Over at Tsunade's office, Naruto Sakura awaited the news Tsunade had for them.

"Where is Kakashi sensei? I want to hear the news! I bet it's a mission. It is, isn't it, granny Tsunade?" Naruto asked.

"You'll see as soon as Kakashi arrives." Tsunade said.

"Aw, come on, just a little hint." Naruto said.

"No. Just wait until Kakashi gets here." Tsunade said.

"Well I don't want to wait. I want to find out now." Naruto said leaning in close to Tsunade.

"And I said no." Tsunade said leaning closer to Naruto.

Both stared at each other impatiently, neither willing to give into the other.

A knock on the office door broke their concentration.

"Come in." Tsunade said.

Both Kakashi and Ebisu stepped through the door.


	3. Chapter 3: Rescue Gaara!

Kakashi put his hand up. "Hi. You wanted to see me?" He asked.

Naruto ran up to Kakashi. "Finally, I've been waiting for you! Tsunade wouldn't tell me anything."

"Well now that you're all here I can." Tsunade said getting out of her chair. "I have a new mission for you." She walked up to Kakashi and handed him the piece of paper. "I need you to assist the sand village in rescuing Gaara from Akatsuki."

Kakashi took the paper. He read the mission carefully.

"You'll have to use extreme caution, as this is an A ranked mission. I understand this mission puts all of you in grave danger, especially Naruto." Tsunade said.

Naruto looked up in surprise. 'Me? That's right. Akatsuki is after me too. Well I won't let them take me.' He thought clenching his teeth.

"Because they have Gaara in their possession, you can bet Itachi to be there too." Tsunade said. "Be careful and return back safely. Good luck."

"Alright you two, let's go." Kakashi said.

"Kakashi sensei," Sakura said as they walked out of Tsunade's office. "Itachi Uchiha, isn't he Sasuke's older brother?"

"Yes he is. He's the person Sasuke wants to take revenge upon." Kakashi said.

"So it's an A ranked mission, huh? Are we teamed up with anyone else?" Naruto asked.

"We won't know until we arrive at the village, but it's most likely that we will be accompanied by a sand ninja." Kakashi said.

'I hope Gaara's alright.' Sakura thought.

The three shinobi arrived at the hidden sand village. Temari ran up to them but stopped in her tracks.

Suddenly a puppet lunges out at Kakashi.

"Look out, Kakashi!" Sakura screamed.

Kakashi jumped away quickly to avoid the puppets poison blades. 'Attacking with a wooden puppet? It's highly armed no doubt. But who is controlling it?' Kakashi thought looking at the chakra strings.

The puppet took out a blade from its hand and lunged at Kakashi again. Kakashi jumped in the air, tracing the chakra strings high above upon a rock.

'So that's where you're hiding.' He thought. He quickly took out a kunai and threw it in the direction of his attacker, again dodging the attacking puppet.

An elderly woman jumped out from the shadows to dodge the weapon. She wore a long white loose dress.

"Nice one, Kakashi sensei!" Naruto cheered.

"This mans name is Kakashi?" The woman said to herself. She immediately pulled the puppet away from Kakashi and severed the chakra strings from her fingers. She bowed to him. "Forgive me; I mistook you for Sakumo Hatake, the white fang of Konoha. I was only joking." She said laughing.

"That explains it. Who are you?" Kakashi asked.

"I'm Chiyo. Sakumo was my son's enemy." Chiyo said.

"Sakumo was my father. I'm his son, Kakashi Hatake." Kakashi said.

"That's why I mistook you for him. You look just like Sakumo. By the way, what brings you here to our village?" Chiyo asked.

"They're here to help rescue Gaara, and I'm glad you came!" Temari said.

"Well why don't you start from the beginning so we can understand what happened." Kakashi said calmly.

"Well I wasn't here when it happened, but this is what Baki told me."

Temari explained in detail what happened from the moment of the attack, to Kankuro's desperate attempt to rescue Gaara from Deidara.

Naruto clenched his fist. 'They'll pay for taking Gaara.' He thought. "Don't worry, Temari. I'll help bring Gaara back, and that's a promise."

"Thank you." Temari said. "And that's I want to come with you."

"No, Temari. You stay and wait here. I'll go and help bring Gaara back." Chiyo said.

"But…" Temari began to protest.

"Listen to me, Temari. You need to stay here for now. Trust me." Chiyo said.

Temari nodded her head. "What about Kankuro?"

"Sakura can heal him." Kakashi said.

"Yes I'm a medical ninja." Sakura said.

"Let's hope you can. He doesn't have much time. He has a day left before the poison kills him." Chiyo said.

"What kind of poison is it?" Naruto asked.

"The strongest and deadliest kind there is. This poison cannot be cured by any antidote." Chiyo said.

Chiyo lead the group to the room where Kankuro was being hospitalized. Kankuro laid on the bed, sweating heavily on his forehead, his skin as pale as a ghost. Sakura walked over to him and put her hands crossed on his chest and began to transfer chakra from her hands to his body.

'Please cure him.' She thought as she closed her eyes.

'Hmm this girl has precise chakra control just like Tsunade.' Chiyo thought as she lowered her eyes for her dislike of Tsunade.

"Hey I think it's working!" Naruto said.

Chiyo looked down at him and then at Kankuro. He was right. Kankuro slowly opened his eyes. Sakura sighed in relief as she removed her hands from his chest.

"Are you alright, Kankuro?" Temari asked.

"Yeah I'm fine now. Thanks, Sakura. Now go rescue Gaara." Kankuro said. He remembered before Sasori poisoned him, he looked at Gaara unconscious on top of the clay bird that Deidara created.

"He's right. We should get going. We can celebrate later." Chiyo said.

Together the four ninja's followed the trail leading to Akatsuki. After several hours of running, they finally arrived at the hide out of Akatsuki. To their surprise, Guy was also there.

"Guy, what are you doing here?" Kakashi asked.

"Well Tsunade decided to send us along for back up." Guy said.

"I see. Hey, Guy, do you see that?" Kakashi asked.

"Yes. It's Sasori and Deidara, and there's Gaara." Guy said.

"Congratulations on making it this far, but we can't allow you to go any further." Deidara said.

"Deidara, stay here and keep an eye on Gaara's body. I'll take Chiyo and that girl. If all goes well, we'll be able to take the nine tailed best from Naruto as well." Sasori said.

"You're right as always, master Sasori." Deidara said.

From the shadows emerged Itachi who came at Kakashi and Naruto with lightning speed. Kakashi barely had time to take out his Kunai to stop Itachi's attack on Naruto.

"So, we meet again, Itachi Uchiha." Kakashi said.

"So it would seem. However, you didn't fare so well against me last time." Itachi said.

"That was last time. I've gotten stronger since then." Kakashi said lifting his leaf head protector, revealing his sharingan.

"You still use your sharingan to track my movements? Pathetic, Kakashi, even for you." Itachi said.

Itachi and Kakashi clashed in battle while Naruto and Guy stood and watched.

'I've got to help Kakashi, but they're moving too fast.' Naruto thought.


	4. Chapter 4: A duel with a master puppet

**A/N: Sorry for the delayed update. The website wouldn't allow me to add documents for a new chapter. Enjoy everyone and let me know what you think, even add ideas for it.**

Itachi kicked Kakashi down and attempted to use his mangekyou sharingan.

"Naruto close your eyes now!" Kakashi yelled.

"Why?" Naruto asked.

"Just do it!" Kakashi said throwing shurikens at Itachi.

Itachi dodged them easily, unable to use the power of his mangekyou sharingan.

"Nice try, but you won't pull the same trick on me twice." Kakashi said.

Naruto turned around and began to run the shadows, looking away from Itachi's gaze.

"He's running away already? How sad, especially when he brags so much about becoming the sixth hokage." Itachi said.

"Naruto never runs away. You should know that." Kakashi said attacking him with a kunai.

Guy attacked him from behind with a leaf hurricane kick but Itachi blocked it with his left arm.

Guy grimaced. 'He's good. I wouldn't expect anything less from a member of the Uchiha clan.' He thought.

Kakashi lowered his eyes. 'Just as I thought; both of our combined strength isn't enough.' He thought to himself.

Both Guy and Kakashi pulled away. Itachi stood calmly on the spot watching both ninjas.

"Guy, it seems we won't be able to beat him on our own." Kakashi said.

"Yes, it appears you're right, Kakashi." Guy said.

Kakashi quickly took out one of his kunai's while Itachi pulled out four shurikens and threw them at Kakashi. Kakashi blocked them and ran forward. Itachi blocked his attack with a kunai.

"You two can't beat me alone, Kakashi." Itachi said.

"No but if me, Guy and Naruto come at you at once, then maybe we can." Kakashi said kicking Itachi high into the air.

Naruto emerged above from the shadows with a formed rasengan. Naruto came down aiming for his chest but Itachi was too fast for him and caught his arm. He punched him in the stomach and then hit him hard in the back with his elbow, sending him rocketing to the ground.

"A pathetic ninja like you can't possible hope to defeat me.' Itachi said. He landed on a rock and looked behind him and saw Deidara smiling.

"I can't wait until it's my turn to fight." Deidara said.

"Kakashi, I've got an idea, but it won't be easy. It's going to take timing." Guy said.

"What's your plan?" Kakashi asked.

"If I add chakra to my foot and kick him high into the air, you can hold him down while Naruto uses his Rasengan to bring him down." Guy said.

"Yeah that should work if we time it correctly. Good idea, Guy." Kakashi said. "Did you understand that, Naruto?"

"Yeah, so you're supposed to hold him and I come up and hit him with my rasengan." Naruto said.

"Right, but form your rasengan as soon as Guy kicks Itachi. Remember, you have to do it at the right time or else this won't work." Kakashi said.

"Ok." Naruto said making a cross with four fingers. "Shadow clone jutsu!" He yelled creating a clone beside him.

"He's using a shadow clone?" Itachi said.

"Now, Guy!" Kakashi said.

Guy formed chakra at his feet and used the white lotus to quickly appear in front of Itachi. Itachi's eyes widened in shock that his sharingan was unable to track his movement. Guy kicked him hard in the stomach. Naruto's shadow clone began to form rasengan in his hand as Itachi flew into the air. Kakashi appeared behind Itachi and held him in a tight grasp. Naruto's clone finished forming rasengan and Naruto jumped high in the air with an outstretched arm.

"Rasengan!" He yelled as he struck Itachi in the chest.

Kakashi quickly let go and watched as Itachi's body made a crater in the stone wall. His body disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"So it was a clone after all." Kakashi said.

'What? It was just a clone? So we haven't really been fighting Itachi? I used up almost all of my chakra for nothing? How do I know the others aren't just clones?' Naruto thought hesitantly. 'I don't have enough chakra to fight the others.'

Suddenly red chakra began to slowly form around Naruto.

"What's going on, Kakashi?" Guy asked.

"Oh no, Naruto's starting to transform." Kakashi said.

"What do you mean transform?" Guy asked.

"When Naruto's chakra is low, the nine tail's chakra begins to take over, giving him almost limitless chakra, but also transforming him. Naruto loses control little by little each time he uses the nine tailed fox's chakra." Kakashi said.

Naruto's eye colour changed to red and he began to grow fangs and claws, and also a tails.

"I've got to stop the transformation before it's too late." Kakashi said quickly making hand signs. "Nine prong seal!" He said placing his hand on Naruto's stomach.

Naruto gasped as his three tails began to disappear along with his fangs and claws. His red eyes returned to their crystal blue colour.

"What…what happened?" Naruto asked.

"You just lost control and began to transform. Don't worry, you'll be fine now." Kakashi said.

It's finally my turn." Deidara said jumping down from the large rock where Gaara's body lay.

"This definitely isn't going to be easy." Kakashi said. "I just hope Sakura and Chiyo are doing well."

Meanwhile, Sakura and Chiyo faced off against Sasori, who Chiyo hadn't seen since he left the village years ago.

"I always thought you were better than this, Sasori." Chiyo said.

"Well you were wrong." Sasori said. "And now it's time to finish you two off." He said summoning forth two puppets.

"That's…that's the…" Chiyo stuttered.

"Yes, one of my puppets is the third kazekage." Sasori said.

"The third kazekage is a puppet? But that doesn't make any sense." Sakura said.

"The third kazekage went missing years ago during the war, and although we desperately searched for him, we never fond his body. This explains why. Sasori killed the third kazekage and turned his body into a puppet." Chiyo said.

"I didn't know that was even possible. Why would he do that?" Sakura asked.

Sasori chuckled. "Because…it was necessary to join akatsuki I had to prove myself, and taking down the third kazekage was the perfect chance."

"How dare you desert your village like that!" Chiyo said.

"Enough talk!" Sasori said bringing out his Hiroku puppet to attack Sakura and Chiyo.

Sakura and Chiyo jumped out of the way, avoiding the deadly poisoned blades.

"Sakura, Sasori is a master of puppets. If you let me help you by controlling you like a puppet, together we can destroy Hiroku." Chiyo said.

"Sure." Sakura said.


	5. Chapter 5: An explosive situation!

**A/N: Well another chapter is up! The six will be up sooner with not nearly a long of a wait! I'm glad you readers are enjoying it.**

Chiyo attached her chakra strings to Sakura, allowing her to control Sakura's body. Sasori's Hiroku puppet attacked Sakura with two more poisoned blades, which Chiyo made Sakura avoid, careful not to touch the blades. She pulled Sakura back to avoid another attack from Hiroku, allowing Sakura a safe distance to attack or defend.

"You won't win by avoiding me." Sasori said lunging Hiroku at Sakura.

'Just let the puppet get a little closer.' Chiyo thought.

Sakura quickly focused her chakra to her feet and quickly moved out of the way. As the puppets blade struck into the ground, Sakura quickly appeared behind Hiroku. Focusing chakra to her hands, she punched the puppet, releasing the chakra on contact to destroy it. Chiyo's eyes widened in shock at the strength Sakura possessed.

'Her strength is the same as Tsunade's as well.' She thought.

"Big deal, so you managed to take down one of my puppets." Sasori said. He released his chakra strings form Hiroku and threw his akatsuki robe off to reveal his true form. His entire body was a puppet, and a coil was placed in the middle of his stomach, and his heart in a glass jar.

Chiyo released her chakra strings from Sakura and brought out the puppet forms of Sasori's parents. Sasori used the kazekage's iron sand to block Chiyo's attacks and used the sand to over whelm Sakura and Chiyo.

'He's using one puppet to defeat us. It's all because of the thirds ability to control sand like Gaara. If we're going to get around the attack, I'll have to get close to is somehow. I know!' Sakura ran towards the puppet with a kunai.

"No, Sakura! Don't!" Chiyo said.

The puppet hit Sakura hard in the right cheek, sending her into a stone wall. She lay motionless. The puppet lunged for Sakura with a poisoned blade. The puppet struck the blade deep into her abdomen. Suddenly her body was replaced by a block of wood.

"She used a substitution jutsu?" Sasori said.

Sakura quickly appeared behind the puppet. Sasori quickly turned the puppet around to strike again but Sakura ducked and struck the puppet hard, smashing it to pieces against a wall.

Sasori grunted in anger. "It's time to stop playing around."

He quickly gained the upper hand on Chiyo and Sakura, the two unable to match Sasori's strength. Sasori pounded Sakura and Chiyo hard into the ground.

Chiyo struggled to get up. "My old body isn't able to keep up with him. But maybe this will." She brought out a large scroll. "Performance of ten puppets!" She said rolling out the scroll.

"That's not good enough!" Sasori said bringing out a scroll of his own. "Performance of one hundred puppets!"

'This isn't good. His scroll allows him to summon ten times the number of puppets. But mine are capable of something his aren't.'

Sasori threw all his puppets on Chiyo's, which all easily blocked the attack. Chiyo's puppets separated and began attacking the large group together, and slowly began to dismantle some of the puppets one by one.

'I see now. Her puppets are capable of working together, a valuable asset that mine lack. No matter, my puppets will easily out number hers.' Sasori thought.

The struggle continued for five minutes until Sasori's puppets began taking down Chiyo's puppets.

"Face it, Chiyo; your puppets are no match for mine when compared in numbers!" Sasori said laughing.

'He's right. Chiyo's puppets may have team work to match Sasori's strength, but as long as he's able to summon that many puppets', she doesn't stand a chance.' Sakura thought.

Sakura watched as Chiyo last puppet was destroyed, as an object flew out. She quickly took the round object and examined it closely.

'It's some kind of orb.' She thought.

"That object you're holding is a special orb capable of sealing away chakra." Chiyo said.

"Ok, but how do I use it?" Sakura asked.

"Focus your chakra around it to power it and use it on one of Sasori's puppets." Chiyo said.

"Ok but how can I get close with all those puppets?" Sakura asked.

"I have two puppets left to use that will help take down Sasori." Chiyo said.

'Two more puppets, does she mean the puppets of Sasori's parents?' Sakura thought

"You've become good, Sasori. Better than I expected. You wont' be able to destroy my puppets this time." Chiyo said.

"Ha-ha! We'll see old woman. Let's face it; you can't beat me with your power alone." Sasori said.

"I know that's why these puppets will!" Chiyo said bringing her two puppets forward.

Sasori lowered his eyes. "I see, so you do plan to use the puppets of my own parents against me."

"Yes. Although this breaks my heart, it is necessary." Chiyo said with tears in her eyes.

"I don't understand. How can those two puppets be Sasori's parents?" Sakura asked.

"Because I converted them the same way he converted the former kazekage into a puppet. I did it shortly after their deaths." Chiyo said.

'So they're supposed to act as a weakness?' Sakura thought.

"Now die!" Sasori said using all his puppets to attack Chiyo.

Chiyo managed to get her two puppets to block the attacks. "Quickly, Sakura, use the orb on Sasori's puppets while you have the chance!" Chiyo ordered.

"Ok." Sakura said nodding as she leaped high into the air, powering up the orb with her own chakra. She came crashing down with an out stretched hand holding the orb in her right hand and used it in the middle of Sasori's puppets.

A massive explosion erupted in a white light as thousand of puppet limbs flew in all directions. When the dust settled, Sakura stood in a crater panting with the orb in her hand.

"Impressive. You do have some skill, and you've made it this far, but only because of that old woman." Sasori looked around him and saw that Chiyo was nowhere to be found.

'She's gone, but where is she?' Sasori thought

Suddenly Cihyo appeared behind him and used the puppet of Sasori's father to stick a blade deep into the jar that contained his heart. Sasori's eyes widened in shock as Chiyo's puppet wrapped its arms around him. Sasori let out a small scream as Chiyo used her second puppet to stab him again in the heart from behind as it too held him in a hug.

Sasori smirked. "It doesn't matter if I die. By now the others will have removed the tailed beast from the kazekage. You've came in vain. Your precious kazekage is dead." Sasori said. He slowly closed his eyes as Sakura and Chiyo watched him die in the embrace of his parents.

'Now hopefully Sasori can finally have chance to be close to his parents.' Chiyo thought.

Off into the distance loud echoes of explosions could be heard. Chiyo and Sakura turned their head in the direction.

"What was that?" Chiyo asked.

"Kakashi, Naruto, and Guy must still be fighting." Sakura said.

"Then we must hurry. If we are to save Gaara, then we must defeat akatsuki as quickly as possible. Come on." Chiyo said running.

Sakura ran beside her. 'It's amazing at her age how much chakra she can use. It's a lot more than Naruto's and mine. But then again, she's no ordinary ninja.' She thought.

While unknown to Kakashi that help was on the way, he was dodging little exploding clays that were being thrown at him. 'How much clay does he have?' He thought.

"Leaf hurricane!" Guy said landing a kick on Deidara's head.

Deidara hit the ground hard as he looked back at his attacker.

"Humph. I didn't even sense him coming. That Guy is fast. I'll have to watch him and Kakashi carefully." He said.

Guy and Kakashi ran to attack Deidara but he quickly made a bird out of clay and flew into the air.

"Ha, it seems I'll have to take a more destructive action to get rid of all three of you." He quickly made eight little clay spiders and threw three each on Guy, Kakashi, and Naruto.

They secretly crawled on their backs and began to light up. All three ninja's turned as the spiders exploded. Orange light and smoke covered the area. Deidara laughed at the sight of the dismantled bodies that lay on the ground surrounded by dust and smoke.

"So much for sharingan Kakashi, might Guy, and that little brat too." Deidara said with a smile.

Deidara's smile quickly faded as the bodies turned into a block of wood in a cloud of smoke.


	6. Chapter 6: Gaara's ressurection

"What?" Deidara quickly looked behind him to see five shurikens heading towards him. He jumped down from the clay bird onto a large rock only to be kicked high into the air by Naruto.

Naruto followed him up. "Uz-u-ma-ki- barrage!" He kicked Deidara down hard onto the ground with his heel.

'Does this mean Naruto finished Deidara off?' Guy thought.

"Little brat." Deidara said trying to move. He put his hand in his bag of clay as Naruto began to walk towards him.

"No, Naruto, don't go near him!" Kakashi yelled.

"Why?" Naruto asked confused.

Deidara tossed two clay owls in front of Naruto. Naruto's eyes widened in shock as Kakashi quickly ran up to him and pulled him out of the way as they clay exploded.

"You have to be more careful, Naruto. Remember, this guy is one of the akatsuki members." Kakashi warned.

"Right; I didn't mean to be so careless, Kakashi sensei." Naruto said.

Guy appeared next to Kakashi. "So what do we do now, Kakashi?" He asked.

"I'm not sure. We'll just have to wait for him to make the next move." Kakashi said.

Deidara stood up laughing. "Ha-ha! They're won't be a second chance because I'll finish you off with this!" He pulled a large clay bird from his robes. The clay bird sat on his hand with its mouth open. "I created this bird while you three were fighting Itachi. I made this one stronger than the last I used to capture the kazekage." Deidara jumped into the air.

Naruto began to crouch to gain jumping speed.

"No, Naruto, don't follow him. I'll take care of this myself." Kakashi said pulling his forehead protector up, revealing his sharingan. "Mangekyou sharingan!"

The three tomoe in his left eye reached out and formed a shape looking similar to a pin wheel. He concentrated his left eye on a part of Deidara's exploding clay, sending it to another dimension.

"How did he do that?" Deidara said astonished.

'How did Kakashi get his mangekyou sharingan? And how does it look different?' Naruto thought puzzled.

Kakashi concentrated on Deidara's head but he quickly moved, causing his jutsu to miss.

"I barely have enough chakra left." Kakashi said.

Suddenly another ninja emerged from the darkness and stood behind Deidara. He wore a mask with a swirl leading to his right eye, and a black shirt and pants with black gloves. His hair was black, short and pointy.

Deidara looked at him in annoyance. "What are you doing here, Tobi?"

"Forgive me, but master Zetsu sent me here to get you." Tobi said.

"I don't need your help, Tobi!" Deidara said.

"I know that, but from the looks of it, you're a bit in over your head." Tobi looked at Kakashi. "That guy looks like he's reached his limit, but the other two still have some fight left. And besides, you've already captured your tailed beast already."

"Yeah I guess you're right. I am tired of fighting these guys. Well I guess I'll see you three later!" Deidara said jumping into the shadows.

"I'm not letting you get away!" Naruto said.

Kakashi formed a hand sign for a fire jutsu. "Great fire ball jutsu!"

A massive fire ball headed towards Tobi but he merely copied the same jutsu.

"Great fire ball jutsu!" He repeated.

The two attacks collided into an explosion, blasting some rocks away.

Sakura and Chiyo arrived to see the explosion. They shielded their eyes from the light.

"He ran away." Guy said.

Suddenly Kakashi collapsed from exhaustion. Naruto and Guy ran to aid him. Sakura ran towards the group.

Guy knelt down beside Kakashi's unconscious body. "He'll be alright. He just collapsed fro mover use of this sharingan. We should take him back to the sand village as soon as we rescue Gaara."

"Oh, Gaara, where is he?" Naruto asked

He's over there." Guy said pointing to the large demonic rock like statue with Gaara's lifeless body lying in front of it.

Naruto ran towards Gaara.

"Naruto, wait!" Sakura said.

"We should hurry over." Guy said picking up Kakashi. He ran to join Naruto.

Chiyo and Sakura followed, faces looking grim staring at Gaara as he lay motionless on the ground.

"Gaara, wake up!" Naruto yelled shaking Gaara's body. "Come on, we need to leave!" He shook his body violently in vain.

Sakura knelt down beside Gaara's body and checked for a pulse. She closed her eyes. "It's no use, Naruto, he's gone. We're too late."

"No you can't be dead! You're the sand's kazekage! You have to return to the village!" Naruto said.

"Sakura is right, Naruto. There's nothing we can do." Guy said.

"I won't believe it. He's just like me. He was all alone because he had a beast sealed inside of him. He worked hard to become the kazekage!" Naruto said.

Chiyo looked up. "So, you, like Gaara, had a tailed beast sealed within you with no say in the matter. I still fell guilty for Gaara. After all, I'm a part of the reason for his loneliness."

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

"I am the one who sealed the shukaku in Gaara before he was born. I was the only one who could safely do it at the time, so lord kazekage asked me to seal the shukaku inside his mother's womb. It was used to make Gaara stronger, give him the ultimate control over the sand…" Chiyo was cut off by Naruto.

"So then it's because of you! You're the reason Gaara was treated like a monster, left all alone? You're the reason for his suffering! Do you know what he went through?" Naruto yelled.

"That's enough, Naruto." Sakura said putting a hand on his shoulder, but he shook it off.

He pointed at Chiyo. "This woman sealed that demon inside of him without knowing what she was doing!"

"I had to. I was asked by lord kazekage" Chiyo said.

"I don't care! You didn't have to! That's so wrong. He lived half his life being unloved and you can still tell me you had to? He died because they wanted the tailed beast! He should have been given a second chance. You should at least be able to bring him back or something!"

"Enough, Naruto, we all know that's not possible." Guy said.

"It may not be possible for an ordinary ninja, but it is for someone like me." Chiyo said.

Guy, Sakura and Naruto stared at Chiyo.

"You're wrong, Naruto. I didn't intend on making Gaara suffer. I can't take back what I did in the past, but I can change the future. I can bring Gaara back, but at the cost of my own life." Chiyo said.

"You can bring Gaara back?" Naruto asked.

"Were you not listening to what I said? I said yes. Now step back." Chiyo said.

Naruto stepped away for Gaara, shocked by Chiyo's words.

"Your words were very touching, Naruto. You know what's important to you. I can see that perhaps you can achieve the title hokage some day." Chiyo said smiling. "Please, send my regards to my brother and tell him that I'll see him in the after life."

Chiyo outstretched her arms over Gaara's body and used as much chakra as she could and pushed it into his body but stumbled.

"Old lady Chiyo, what's wrong?" Naruto asked.

"Unfortunately, it seems that I am too weak to revive Gaara. I don't have enough chakra." Chiyo said.

"Then I'll give you some of mine so you can revive him." Naruto said placing his hand on her arm as his chakra flowed into Chiyo's body.

"Yes that should be enough. Thank you, Naruto." Chiyo said.

Naruto nodded with a smile.

Chiyo placed her hands over Gaara's body once more and used all of her strength to revive Gaara. After a few minutes she stopped and fell on the floor. Naruto and Sakura ran to her side.

"It's done. Gaara's come back." She said.

Sakura and Naruto looked at Gaara who slowly began to move.

"He's alive! You did it old lady Chiyo!" Naruto exclaimed.

"I am glad to die peacefully knowing that this world really has changed for the better, thanks to you two, Naruto and Sakura.' Chiyo thought as her eyes slowly closed and she slipped into an eternal slumber.


	7. Chapter 7: The parting of ways

Gaara let out a low grunt and squinted as he slowly opened his eyes. The blurry images of Naruto and Sakura slowly became clear. "Naruto, Sakura? What am I doing here?" He asked.

"You were captured by akatsuki and taken to their hide out where the extracted the shukaku from you, and you died." Sakura explained.

Gaara clenched his hand a few times before looking over at Chiyo's body. "I see. Then I owe her my life." He said.

"She's also the one that sealed the shukaku inside of you!" Naruto said.

Sakura shot Naruto a cold glare.

'So this was the person responsible for me being born a monster.' He thought.

"Everyone at the sand village is waiting for you! We should leave as soon as possible!" Naruto said.

"Wait we can't just leave Chiyo's body here. We should bury it." Sakura said.

"Sakura's right. She deserves a proper burial." Guy said.

They found a small hill over looking the water and decided to bury Chiyo's bod there. Within fifteen minutes a grave had been dug and a large wooden cross stood in front of the fresh dug up mound.

"This mission's success wouldn't have been possible without her help." Sakura said.

"Yes but she gave her life for a noble cause." Guy said.

"We should head back to the sand village now that we've buried her. Temari and Kankuro are waiting for your return, Gaara." Naruto said.

Gaara nodded as the group began to retreat back to the sand village. Due to the time frame of their battle with akatsuki, the five shinobi had no choice but to camp out for the night and rest to continue in the morning. Kakashi remained unconscious until the early morning light. He awoke to Guy's back. He stirred slightly on the grass.

"So, you're finally awake, Kakashi." Guy said.

Kakashi sat up. "Yeah; so the mission was a success then?"

"Yes your team did extremely well in retrieving Gaara." Guy said.

"And what happened to Chiyo? I don't see her."

Guy lowered his head.

"I see."

"She died returning the lift Gaara lost."

"It was a noble act of her." Kakashi said thinking of how she had acted before the mission.

"Actually it was Naruto that persuaded her to do so."

"That's not surprising. He usually acts out at situations such as this." Kakashi said looking at Naruto who was slowly approaching Gaara.

"I bet you're happy to have your life back." Naruto said trying to make some conversation.

"Yes, thank you for your efforts, Naruto." Gaara said.

Naruto laughed. It wasn't just me, Sakura, old lady Chiyo, Guy and Kakashi sensei helped too." He said with a smile.

"It's not just for that." Gaara said turning to look at Naruto. "You changed my life. If it wasn't for you, I would have never learned the true value of friendship and bonds."

Naruto cocked his head to the side and looked at Gaara wide eyed.

"That day we fought, you were risking your life to save your friends, and I thought it was a selfish and useless act. To care about another human being was a lost cause to me, until you showed me differently. Now I'm the kazekage and I have the village and the people in it to protect."

"But you worked hard for that, didn't' you? You becoming the kazekage showed me that it's possible to become hokage."

Gaara opened his mouth in surprise but said nothing.

Naruto looked out into the open forest. "I always say that I'm going to become hokage some day but I always doubted if I was going to be good enough, or if the people in my village would ever respect me, but you showed me it's possible."

Gaara smiled. He was glad that his achievements pushed Naruto to keep going for his dreams.

Naruto and Gaara turned as Kakashi walked their way.

Naruto smiled widely. "Kakashi sensei, you're all better!"

Kakashi smiled and waved. "Well not entirely. It's going to be a few days before I can take on more missions."

All this commotion roused Sakura from her sleep. She slowly opened her eyes. As her vision came into focus, she saw that the rest of her comrades were already awake.

"Kakashi sensei, you're awake!" She said when she noticed him.

"Morning, Sakura." He said smiling under his mask. "Did you sleep well?"

Sakura nodded. "Gaara, how do you feel?" She asked.

Gaara smiled. "I'm fine, thank you."

"Guy, we should start heading back now. The village is anxiously awaiting the return of their kazekage." Kakashi said.

Guy nodded. "Alright everyone, lets pack up and head out. If we're to make it back to the village in time, we should only take on break if needed."

Everyone nodded. After a few minutes, they were packed up and running as fast as they could back to the village. After a few hours Naruto's stomach began to growl.

Guy laughed. "Ha-ha! Sounds like we need to take a lunch break."

After thirty minutes of resting and a quick bite to eat they set out again, determined to not stop again for another break. They finally arrived at the sand village two hours later. Temari stood on the highest look out scanning the area.

"Temari, come here quickly! There's a group approaching the village fast!" A sand guard said.

Temari jumped down from the ledge and looked out into the far distance. After a few minutes she immediately recognized the group of shinobi.

"It's Gaara! They've brought Gaara back!" She cried as she ran to alert her brother. She found him on the south side of the watch tower.

"Kankuro come look! Naruto and the others brought Gaara back!" She said.

Kankuro stared at her wide eyed and quickly followed her out to greet the approaching group.

The five shinobi stopped at the entrance of the village.

Temari threw her arms around her brother, tears streaming down her face. It was Kankuro who noticed a member missing from their group.

"Where's Chiyo sama?" he asked.

Temari slowly stopped crying as she looked up. He was right. Chiyo wasn't with them.

"Chiyo didn't make it back." Sakura began to explain. Gaara died when they extracted the shukaku from him. After we defeated Deidara and Sasori, Chiyo gave her life bring Gaara back to life.

"I see." Temari said looking down. "I'm very grateful. We owe her our brother's life."

"You owe her nothing." Kakashi said. "She did what she thought was right. The village needs a kazekage."

Temari smiled and nodded. "You're right. Thank you, all of you for risking your lives to bring our brother back.

"I told you I'd bring your brother back." Naruto said.

"What happened, Gaara?" Kankuro asked.

"It's best to explain inside. We should also inform Ebizo about Chiyo." Kakashi said.

"Why, what happened to Chiyo?" Ebizo asked walking up to them.

"Well explain inside." Sakura said.

The group proceeded inside where Gaara ordered two sand shinobi to inform villagers of the situation and to offer reassurance.

After the two ninja left Kakashi began to explain what happened from their point of arrival at the akatsuki head quarters to the resurrection. When he had finished Temari's eyes were wide in shock, and Kankuro's moth was slightly open, and Ebizo stared at the group smiling, thinking of how peaceful his sisters must have looked. Gaara's eyes seemed distant, lost in his own thoughts of the battle against Deidara.

"It's likely the akatsuki may plan to attack again." Kakashi began after giving everyone a few minutes to take in the information. "They may want to try to finish the job, but it's uncertain if a part of the shukaku's spirit still remains inside of you." He said looking at Gaara.

"Is there any way of knowing? Will Gaara still have his power of control over the sand?" Temari asked.

It's hard to say. Gaara may be able to keep his control over sand, but Gaara died when the shukaku was extracted from his body, meaning you may be able to live the rest of your life without the demon."

"And now that we have an idea of how it's done, we'll know what to expect, although I'm not sure how to stop the process. They may come after Naruto more than ever now." Guy said.

Sakura looked at Naruto with great concern, who only looked down, lost in hi sown thoughts.

"But if we can disband them one by one, we won't have to worry about them going after Naruto." Sakura said.

"Yes, but fighting against Sasori and Deidara proved to be harder than we thought and they can always recruit more members." Kakashi said.

"Well at least now we know where their hideout is, but it's possible they'll change its location now we've found it. Never the less, we should head back to the village." Guy said.

"You're right, Guy. Our mission in rescuing Gaara was a success." Kakashi said.

As the leaf Shinobi bid their comrades farewell, Temari gave the ninja one last thank you.

"From all of us in the sand village, thank you once again." She said bowing.

The four ninja smiled as they made their way back to the hidden leaf village.


	8. Chapter 8: Who are you? A new rival

Meanwhile, back at the akatsuki head quarters the leader called a meeting amongst its members.

"The capture and extraction of the shukaku was a success, but we lost a member in the process. Sasori was Deidara's partner and a master puppet." The leader began. "As a result, we are short of a member and we have a candidate interested in joining us. Step forward, Tobi."

From the shadows the ninja in the orange mask appeared.

"Tobi, you have made it known to me and to Zetsu of your interest in our group and have shown impressive skill as a shinobi. Do you have the ring?" The leader asked.

"Yes, I do have the ring." Tobi said pulling out Sasori's old ring. On the green face of the ring imprinted in black ink is the symbol, gyokunyo.

"You have proven worthy of being an akatsuki member. You may proudly wear the ring, and you will replace Sasori as Deidara's new partner."

Tobi stood shocked by the leader's decision. "Thank you." He said putting the ring on his left thumb.

"You may grieve quietly for Sasori if you wish. You're all dismissed." The leader said walking away.

Everyone left except for Itachi and Kisame. Itachi stared off into the distance, lost in his own thoughts.

"Orochimaru was Sasori's partner before he left, and now Sasori's gone." Itachi said.

"Yes, how interesting things would be if they both died. But Sasuke left to train with Orochimaru, didn't he? I wonder if that kid has what it takes to kill him." Kisame said smiling.

"Yes, it would be very interesting." Itachi said looking down. Thinking of, for only a moment, of his younger brother, Sasuke and how strong he must have become by now, possibly strong enough to kill him.

In the sound village Orochimaru lay sick in his bed, his arms wrapped. Kabuto had entered minutes before treating the burning in his arms with special medicated ointment to slightly ease the pain. Orochimaru laid his head back on the pillow, allowing himself to rest until he felt well enough to attempt to take over Sasuke's body. He had waited for this time for three years, being unable to take over his body previously as Sasuke had not returned to the village, and he had to use another body instead. But no, not this time. This time around he will have the uchiha's body and thus, his clan's special kekkei genkai: the sharingan, a power that that used to be greatly feared among ninja's. He will finally obtain their power, power that he has waited patiently for. He smiled at the thought of living in Sasuke's body. The young uchiha was his last chance. His plan failed at the attempt against Itachi, who had become stronger than he, a sanin.

"Just a little more time and then Sasuke will be all mine." He said to himself.

He slowly closed his eyes. He would dream of that day. His thoughts were broken by a loud crash as lightning chakra struck though the wall and into his heart. He grunted and winced in pain.

"Who-how dare you…" He looked through the large hole in the wall and saw Sasuke standing there, holding the chakra blade.

"I have no need to learn under you anymore. There's nothing more that you can teach me, Orochimaru." Sasuke said calmly stepping through the hole.

"I thought you would say that some day. That's why I was prepared to take your body by force!"

Orochimaru began to transform into a large, white scaly snake that filled the entire room. The hairs on his head stood tall like spikes, his tongue long, and his eyes thirsty.

"Now give me your body, Sasuke Uchiha!" He said lunging towards Sasuke.

Sasuke diminished his blade and jumped out of the way and activated his sharingan.

"I will have you!" Orochimaru said attacking Sasuke from behind, who managed to evade his attack once again.

This time, Orochimaru encircled himself around Sasuke, trapping his prey in a corner. He would not be able to escape him now. A blinding flash filled the room as Orochimaru began to transfer himself into Sasuke's body. Excitement filled him. He was going to finally accomplish his goal. Kabuto, who had started running the second he heard the crashing coming from Orochimaru's room arrived in time to see Sasuke hunched over. When the flash in the room disappeared, Sasuke stood up and looked at Kabuto who was panting. Sasuke slowly approached him.

"Is that you, lord Orochimaru?" Kabuto asked as Sasuke's body walked past him.

He stopped for a moment, but continued to walk on, leaving Kabuto to ponder if it really is his master, or if Sasuke really did manage to kill him.

'I hope lord Orochimaru was successful in his body transfer.' He thought.

Back in Konoha, Kakashi stood at the memorial, pondering about the strange ninja in the orange mask.

'Tobi, that's what Deidara called him.' He thought. 'And yet he seemed to copy my fire jutsu in an instant, as if he too had the sharingan. Yes, he had to, there was no way of knowing I was going to use that jutsu and repel it. Sasuke's the only survivor of his clan, but it is possible Tobi is from the Uchiha clan, or is his eye a transplant like mine?' He stood at the memorial for a long time

Near the akatsuki head quarters, Tobi sat up high on a tree, twiddling the ring between his fingers.

"We just barely made it out of there. We probably would have been fighting longer if I wasn't able to use that fire jutsu. But that ninja, and that attack seem some what familiar, as if I've always known about that jutsu. But where does it come from? I know I certainly didn't make it up. Zetsu told me he found me in a cave and that he was the one who gave me life again.

Suddenly an unknown fragment of Tobi's mind flashed back to a bird's eye view of a ninja's right side pinned under a large boulder, and two other ninja attempting to pull the young ninja out. However, they were not alone. Two ninja from above laughed at their feeble attempts to free their friend. The memory lingered on the trapped ninja's right eye. It was red, the same as the white haired ninja's left eye. Was it his own eye that he was looking at, or was it someone else he had known?

Tobi shook his head. The thought of it being true was ludicrous. He would have remembered such a tragic event. But then again, he wasn't sure where he came from. He knew he once belonged to a powerful clan, Zetsu had told him so. He jumped down from the tree and walked over to a stream. He gazed down upon his reflection in the water. He had spiky hair just like the boy from his vision. But the young shinobi had orange lens goggles, and he wore an orange mask, his favourite colour, and he had bolts all over his body. A voice told him that the vision happened a long time ago, but he couldn't escape the feeling that he knew the two other ninja. He slowly put his fingers on his mask. He only saw from one eye, as the white haired ninja did. He began to slowly pull the mask from his head but was interrupted by Zetsu.

"Tobi, there you are. I've been looking for you." Zetsu said. "Have you been here this whole time?"

"No. I haven't been here long." Tobi said. "What do you need me for, Zetsu-san?"

"I wanted to show you your new room. What are you doing here anyway?"

"Nothing, I was just relaxing."

"Not day dreaming again I hope."

"Of course not, it would be foolish to!"

"Good, because if all you do is day dream you're going to get yourself killed." Zetsu said beginning to walk.

"Zetsu-san, can I ask you a question?"

"What is it?" Zetsu said staring ahead.

"There was a white haired ninja I fought, he had one red eye. Who is he?"

"You're kidding, right? His name is Kakashi Hatake, Sakumo Hatake's son. He's a highly skilled ninja."

"I see." 

When they arrived at the head quarters Tobi followed Zetsu to a medium sized room.

"Thank you, Zetsu-san." Tobi said.

Zetsu turned and walked away.

"You're not going to stay?" Tobi asked.

"I have other things I need to do, and I'm hungry. I should eat, I'm quite hungry." One half of Zetsu said.

"Then eat if you're hungry. We'll need the energy." The other half of Zetsu said.

After spending some time at the memorial, Kakashi decided to hang the mission report into Tsunade. Usually handing in reports would be the first thing he did, but the memorial seemed more important for the moment. It didn't take him long to reach her office. He knocked on the door.

"Come in." Tsunade said.

Kakashi stepped in.

"Ah, Kakashi, you're back, a little late as usual. Guy was in here a few moments ago. How did the mission go?"

"The mission was a success and Gaara has been safely returned to the sand village." He said handing over a piece of paper to her.

She took it and reviewed it. As she read it, a thought came to Kakashi.

"Tsunade, have you ever heard of a ninja named Tobi?" He asked.

Tsunade looked up. "Ninja named Tobi? Well what does he look like?"

"He has black, spiky hair, black clothes and an orange mask with a swirl concentrating on his right eye." Kakashi said.

"Hm no I don't think I've heard of him before. Why do you ask?"

"Well it's just he seems to be a new recruit of akatsuki, and when I fought him he used the same jutsu as me so fast it was as if he copied it. And there's only one thing that can."

"You're referring to the Uchiha clan. Sasuke and Itachi are the only known members of the clan left now."

"Yes I know." Kakashi said.

"Why are you trying to say you think that that shinobi could be a survivor, or does he remind you of an old teammate?"

"No, it was just a thought." Kakashi said.

"Well if that's it, you may go." Tsunade said.

'That man looks similar to Obito, but he can't be him. It's impossible. Obito died a long time ago.' He thought as he walked out of the office.

"What was that about, lady Tsunade?" Shizune said.

Tsunade sat back in her chair. "A long time ago, before Arashi became the fourth hokage, he and his team, Kakashi, Obito and Rin set out on a mission to destroy a bridge. Kakashi had just become a jonin. They split up but the mission didn't go as planned. Rin was captured, and Kakashi and Obito went to save her, but Obito became trapped under several rocks. They had to leave without him."

Shizune covered her mouth with her hands. "That's terrible!"

"From what I understand, Kakashi and Obito were close but rivals, much like Naruto and Sasuke were."

"I see. Come to think of it, it's true, Naruto and Sasuke always fought. Do you think there's a small chance that Obito could have been brought back to life?"

"Don't be silly, Shizune, that's not really all that possible. Besides, if he was, it would have to be a human sacrifice, or a powerful jutsu.

"Yeah I guess you're right." Shizune said.

'But then again, Orochimaru offered to revive Dan and Nawaki at the cost of two human sacrifices.' She thought.

Kakasih walked around the city. 'I want to learn more about Tobi, Why? I never wanted to pursue anyone like this before, so what is it about this one man? What's so special about him?' He thought as the memory of Obito flashed through his mind. He closed his eyes.

Obito stood with a fist in the air at Kakashi. "I am Obito of the Uchiha clan! And one day I will surpass you, just you wait!"


	9. Chapter 9: The mysterious Tobi

A/N: First of all I'd like to say I'm very sorry for making you all wait this long for me to FINALLY start writing again

**A/N: First of all I'd like to say I'm very sorry for making you all wait this long for me to FINALLY start writing again. I kind of lost inspiration or rather lost interest in the story for a time. It's almost been a year since I stopped (how sad, considering it drives me nuts to not finish something) and we put our dog down in august, a very sad time, but no excuse. Writing for Naruto isn't as easy as MK for me but still fun. Anyway, now that I've gotten myself in gear for writing again, hopefully between work this next chapter will come much, much sooner. I'm also still working out some plots in my head but I will finish this to the end, that's a promise! Thanks for sticking with me if you're still reading. I'll make it up to you guys! Perhaps I'll do a double chapter post or a long one! **

The memory faded away in Kakashi's mind. He opened his eyes and gazed up at the clear blue sky.

'Did you really die that day, Obito? I always thought that I was certain that you died saving my life, but now I'm not so sure.'

He remembered the picture in his apartment of his old team.

"You died, all of you. I'm the only one left from the team. I was so foolish then." He said to himself.

His thoughts were broken as Iruka walked up to him.

"Oh, Kakashi, I didn't think I'd see you here. How are you?"

"Hello, Iruka. I'm fine, how are you?"

"I'm well thank you." He said standing beside Kakashi.

"So, what are you up to? Are you paying respects to your parents?"

"Yes. Today is fourteen years to the day that the nine tailed fox attacked the village, and killed my parents. I had been so busy lately I had almost forgotten."

"All of us have been busy with missions." Kakashi said thinking back to that fateful day.

"Which reminds me, how did Naruto and Sakura do on their mission?"

"Both of them did very well. Their skills have improved greatly since their previous training."

"So the mission was successful then?"

"Yes."

Iruka smiled. "I was worried it might have been a little too hard for them, but that doesn't seem to be the case." He said.

"Well I better get going. I can't stay here all day." Kakashi said as he turned to head for his home.

"Alright, I'll see you later then." Iruka said looking at Kakashi as he passed him.

'It wasn't the mission itself that was hard, but the shinobi that we faced, especially the one in the mask.' Kakashi thought. 'Perhaps I'll read the new come come paradise to get my mind off the mission.'

Kakashi arrived home to find his favourite novel placed on his bed. He would often find himself staying up all night reading the book only to be scrambling to finish assignments from the day before, a partial reason to his lateness. He sat heavily on the bed, staring at the novel beside him. Suddenly Obito's face appeared upon the red covered book. Kakashi's eye widened in shock at the flash back but shook his head and quickly opened the book. He used all his energy to concentrate on reading the first chapter but it was of no use. He hadn't read a single word. His mind was too distracted on the newest akatsuki member he had seen only for a few moments. He lowered his eye in sadness. The overwhelming sadness that rose every now and then began to rise within his heart.

'No,' He thought. 'Not this time. I've gone over this before. They're gone, you know this. Nothing can bring them back. I'll see them again in another time, another place.'

Still, the image of the man wearing the orange mask flashed through his mind. How can this one shinobi's identity drive him this crazy? He had never met the man and yet the short flash back of the small resemblance to Obito made him fell as if he had known the man for years.

"That's it. I'll have to go see him. I can't even relax with my mind like this."

Kakashi left his apartment and hurried to the pone person who would be able to give him information on the members of akatuski, the captain of anbu, Yamato.

Yamato was neatly putting away his ninja gear that he had just used in a previous mission when he heard a knock on the door. He turned in surprise but quickly walked over and opened the door to find Kakashi at the door step.

"Kakashi, I wasn't expecting you!" He smiled at his old comrade.

"I'm sorry about all this. I know it's unexpected but I was wandering if I could talk to you." Kakashi asked.

"Of course, come in!" Yamato said gesturing to this kitchen table.

"Thank you." Kakashi said stepping in. He took a seat at the table with Yamato.

"So, what's on your mind? Whatever it is, it looks to be eating at you." Yamato said.

"Yes it's about the members of akatsuki, and my previous mission with team seven."

Yamato nodded. "Go on."

"There's no doubt Tsunade told you of the events that took place. What bothers me isn't so much of why they're trying to catch tailed beasts but the identity of their newest member, someone by the name of Tobi."

"My team has no current information of their newest member. Could you describe him?"

"He wears an orange mask with swirls leading to a single eye bole on the right side. He has short black hair, similar to Naruto's, and what looks like bolts on his body."

"Hmm, I don't recall ever meeting that man. He must have just bee recently recruited, then."

Kakashi nodded. "Yeah, I gathered that much from the way he talked about Sasori's ring. Unfortunately there wasn't enough time to thoroughly examine him with my sharingan. Tsunade doesn't have any information on him, either."

"Well whoever he is, don't let it go to your head, Kakashi. If you're not careful, you could become obsessed with all this." Yamato said.

"Yeah, I know. It's just fro some reason that shinobi is so mysterious, it's like I've known him for some time before."

"Does he have a head band?"

"No, and there's nothing otherwise to tell us about his origins, either."

"Hmm he's a very mysterious character indeed. Hang on; I'll check my bingo book."

Kakashi looked up at Yamato who went to his room. Normally a shinobi, especially one from anbu wouldn't just freely show even a comrade a bingo book, but kakashi is a close friend and to Yamato.

Back when Kakashi was in anbu, he acted as Yamato's role model as a captain. A lot that he learned was from watching Kakashi. His friend's interest in Tobi worried him, remembering the loss of Obito when Kakashi was young.

'What could possibly lead him to think that Tobi resembles his old friend?' He thought as he grabbed the bingo book from his bag. He walked over to Kakashi handing him the book. "In here are the akatsuki members, separate from the other targeted shinobi."

Kakashi flipped through the pages of the members. The very few known members that were listed had little information under their names. Only Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki had the most information, partly because Itachi was a former leaf shinobi. The information on the newest member, Tobi, only displayed one picture and the name with question marks.

"We were only just able to get a picture now."

"I see. It must have been hard."

"It was. Jiraiya-sama was the one to provide the picture. A lot of shinobi aren't even aware of Tobi's existence."

"Even I don't know all of the members." Kakashi said getting up. He handed the book back to Yamato. "Thank you for letting me have a look at it."

Yamato nodded with a smile. "I know you would have done the same thing. Take care, Kakashi-senpai." He said walking Kakashi out the door.

'All these memories of when he was young must be driving him crazy. I hope he doesn't let it cloud is judgments.' He thought closing the door.

'It's not possible to raise the dead without some forbidden justu, is it?' He opened the bingo book to Tobi's picture.

Kakashi went to bed early that night. All the unanswered questions left him exhausted, but his thoughts carried into his dreams. He dreamt of Obito's death as a young boy as if he were reliving it. The overwhelming grief and self doubt consumed his heart once more. He fell to his knees, his fists clenched as he slammed them hard into the cold soil. Tears blurred his vision as they fell like rain drops onto his hands.

"Kakashi Hatake."

The call of his name caused the grief stricken young boy to look up at his young friend buried under large boulders, now being replaced by Tobi, who laughed. Facing his back, Tobi turned around so Kakashi could see his face. He towered over Kakashi as he placed his right hand on his mask and slowly began to remove it. Kakashi used his new sharingan to look into the warrior's single eye. He could almost make out the pupil through the small hole as the young voice spoke once more.

"Kakashi, Rin, I wish I could have spent more time with you guys." The voice echoed in the distance as Tobi began to move the mask from his face.

Kakashi could see the warriors face was long and narrow, suggesting the warrior's age within his late twenties. But before he could get a look at his full face, darkness consumed the vision as Tobi's image disappeared.

Kakashi's eye shot wide open as he slowly sat up. Although the dream wasn't long, it felt real. So real that his hands were shaking from fear of the images that tormented him from that day.

"Kakashi you fool!" Tobi's voice echoed through his mind.

He gasped and turned around so quickly that he knocked over the picture of his teammates and the fourth hokage.

'Why is that mission from yesterday bothering me so much? Maybe I am letting it go to my head.' He thought looking out the window. Through the pouring rain and dark clouds he could see the faint light of the early morning sun. He slept in later than usual. He got up and began to dress as he went through another morning ritual of visiting the stone monument of all the fallen shinobi.

Miles away at the akatsuki cave, Tobi stood on top of the large wooden arch, gazing out into the wilderness.

"What are you doing out here, Tobi?"

Tobi, who panicked at Zetsu's appearance, lost his balance as he fell into the water. He shot up through the surface.

"You scared me, Zetsu-san!" He yelled.

"It's not my fault you zoned out here. Besides, with your luck, you'll catch a cold in this rain." Zetsu said.

"Well now I might now that I fell into the water! And what about you, won't you catch a cold?"

"I don't catch colds." Zetsu said turning away.

'Of course you don't!' Tobi thought standing on top of the water as he jumped onto the land on the other side.

"Where are you off to so early?"

"I feel like going for walk."

"Well make sure you're back in time for you mission. Deidara will have your head you're late again, Tobi."

"Aw it will be alright." Tobi said as he disappeared amongst the tree tops. Zetsu headed back into the cave where he stared at the massive statue that helped to trap the tailed beasts. Suddenly the leader of akatsuki's image appeared before him.

"This is an unexpected visit, leader." Zetsu said.

"Where's Tobi?" He asked.

"He's gone off for a walk somewhere. He's always goofing off. Sometimes I wonder if he takes the organization seriously."

"That does not matter. We know Tobi is loyal and I want it to stay that way. Does he remember anything of his past?"

"No, there seems to be only current memories of akatsuki."

"Good, keep it that way. If he asks, tell him he's a shinobi who was desperate to join akatsuki at a young age. Remember, his past memories could ruin years of planning. I've come too far to lose the nine tails now."

"Don't worry, I haven't forgotten."

Zetsu watched the leader's image disappear.


	10. Chapter 10: Old friends never die

Suddenly Zetsu's attention was diverted to the shadows behind him

Suddenly Zetsu's attention was diverted to the shadows behind him.

"Who's there?" He asked.

"Relax, it's just me."

"Oh, it's you, Itachi. What do you want?"

"I don't see why Tobi is of great importance to the organization. He isn't that good."

"He's almost as good, even better than you. Besides, it's rude to eaves drop."

"I wasn't eaves dropping; I had just awaked from a nap when I heard you're conversation."

"It would have been nice to know you were there. You know how important Tobi's memories are."

"Yes I'm aware of that. To think I could have had fun killing him myself if it weren't for that little incident."

"Well that little incident is why he's here. At any rate, shouldn't you be chasing after that kyuubi brat?"

"That's what Kisame and I are going to do. I'm meeting up with him. We're going to strike Naruto near the village, but there's not time to try and catch him. There's something else I want to do." Itachi said leaving the cave.

A couple of miles away Tobi sat looking at his ring under an oak tree. He tossed the ring high into the air before catching it. Looking at the symbol of his ring brought a flash back of Kakashi and his flame jutsu.

'That man…how is it he has one red eye? From what I understand, there were members of a certain clan that were supposed to have power with their eyes. Is that sharingan? If so, why does he have it in only one eye? Does that deep scar on his left eye mean it was transplanted?' He reached up to place his hand over the single eye hole. 'I have only one eye, too. I must have lost it in a battle a long time ago. Do we have something in common? But I'm sure I've never met him before--' His thoughts were cut off by Itachi and Kisame running by.

"Where are they going in such a hurry? I know my mission with Deidara won't be until tomorrow and that I should be there early before then, but it can wait!" Tobi quickly sped off to carefully follow Itachi and Kisame. Little did he know that the village he would follow them to would be close to home to more than one shinobi.

"So, Itachi, can I finally rip this kid to shreads now?" Kisame asked.

"No, Kisame. We can't capture Naruto yet." Itachi said.

Kisame frowned. "Well why not? We've been waiting two years! If we're not going to try and capture him, then why are we going?"

"I want to pay him a little visit is all."

"Don't make me laugh, Itachi! You know as well as I do the boy won't stand around! What are you planning to do, persuade him to come quietly?"

"You'll see, Kisame."

Tobi continued to keep a safe distance from them. "Wow Kisame and Itachi move fast! But not so fast that I can't keep up! I wonder why they're traveling this far from the cave? I'll have to be careful not to get caught."

Night had already fallen by the time the three shinobi reached the hidden leaf village. Tobi examined the area carefully.

"Hmm I don't think I've been here before! We're at some kind of village. Itachi and Kisame are quite close. Maybe I can sneak in unnoticed. But why attack at night?"

Tobi watched as Itachi and Kisame silently knocked the two watchmen unconscious. Their target was the ramen shop. Tobi silently followed the two in.

"So where exactly are we going to find him, at his home?" Kisame asked.

"No, he'll most likely be somewhere else at this hour, most likely at the ramen shop." Itachi said.

"Are you sure this won't cause a huge commotion? I'm fine with taking down a few weak shinobi but I don't want anyone following us back."

"Don't worry, Kisame. We won't be followed."

"Good. I have to admit, I'm a little excited."

"Don't get carried away. Naruto could be with someone."

"If he is, can we kill them?"

"I want to avoid as few deaths as possible. Only kill if it's absolutely necessary."

The two silently walked through the shadow of the village, careful not to attract any attention. Within a few moments they stood in an alley way across the street from the ramen shop, where they spotted Naruto.

"So how are we going to do this, Itachi?"

"Leave that part to me." Itachi said.

Naruto, unaware of the dangers outside, happily finished his third ramen bowl.

"Ah that was excellent, thanks!" He said stacking the bowl on top of the other two with a satisfied smile.

The owner smiled back. "I'm glad you enjoyed it. Here's your bill." He said handing Naruto the piece of paper.

Naruto dug deep into his pocket and pulled out several dollar bills and placed it beside the stack of bowls.

"Thanks again!" Naruto said getting up. He stepped outside stretching his arms high into the night sky.

"That was really good, I'm stuffed!" He said happily. "Maybe I'll walk around for a bit before heading home."

Suddenly a chilly wind blew as it picked up stray leaves that circled around the dark alley. Naruto looked over and saw slight movement amongst its shadow. He narrowed his eyes.

"Who's there?"

The figure only stirred in the darkness.

"Is that you, Konohamaru?"

There was silence all around except for the sound of Naruto's heart pounding against his chest. Tobi, who had finally caught up, stopped when he noticed Itachi and Kisame a few distances away.

"Ah there they are! Even at this hour there's still some activity, interesting—oh!"

Tobi turned his attention to Naruto. "This must be the tailed beast they have to capture. Maybe I'll stick around for a little bit."

Naruto silently waited for the figure to make a move.

"Look, if you don't answer me then I'll come after you!" He pulled out a kunai from his back pouch.

"Naruto Uzumaki." The voice spoke.

Naruto stopped in his tracks.

"Naruto, if you want to find out who we are, then meet me out in a small clearing just outside these walls."

'Who is that? And why does their voice sound familiar? Maybe I should go' He thought. "Alright, I'll go, just don't chicken out!"

Itachi smiled. 'Excellent.'

'Before I rush off, I should check my bag to see if I have all my gear.'

Naruto opened the small pouch on his belt and checked it thoroughly.

'Looks like I've got everything I need. If I get into trouble, I'll use my paper bomb.'

He placed the pouch back onto his belt and sped off to meet the unknown adversaries. Tobi watched Naruto head off towards the west.

"Hmm looks like Itachi wants to have some sort of meeting with Naruto. While they're out maybe I should take a look around while all is quiet.' He thought taking off.

He cautiously proceeded through the shadows, careful not to pass anyone. Eventually he passed through a small bush area with a large clearing in the center. Walking through any village that wasn't your own, especially at night, would be considered a foolish and reckless act for any shinobi, but Tobi was curious and confident that he could escape undetected. He enjoyed the thrill of sneaking around at night. Besides, what possible harm could it do for someone just taking a look around? He proceeded through the bush until he heard a voice. He quickly hid himself behind a tall wide tree and carefully peeked around. He was shocked to see someone standing in front of a large stone structure.

'Who would be here at this time of night?' He thought. (But look who's talking.)

"I know I'm here at an unusually late hour, but I couldn't come early this morning. Tsunade's been putting a lot on my plate."

'Who is he talking to?'

"Today is a special day for you, isn't it? I know in this circumstance this kind of thing doesn't count, but I think it should be celebrated in a small way."

The man sighed as he neatly placed a few roses against the smooth stone. It's not really like him to bring flowers to a memorial, but today is a special event. He smiled slightly to himself.

"Well, happy birthday, Obito. I'll have to remember to bring Rin some flowers too in a couple of months."

'Who are Obito and Rin, his friends? This must be some sort of memorial.' Tobi thought as he continued to stare at the man, perplexed by his grief and loyalty towards his fallen friends.

Within a few minutes Naruto had made it to the meeting spot to find no one else but him there.

"I knew it!" He grumbled. "They chickened out! What a wimp!"

"I'm glad you decided to come, Naruto."

"Hey, just who are you? I came here like you said now show yourself!"

Itachi and Kisame emerged from the shadows of the trees.

"What do you guys want? Trying to take me with you again, forget it!" Naruto said throwing several shurikens at the two.

Itachi deflected the attack with his own kunai, causing Naruto to take a step back.

'This isn't good.' He thought.

"Relax, Naruto, I only came here to talk to you." Itachi said.

"Yeah, right, you actually expect me to believe that? You're from akatsuki! You took Gaara!"

"Yes, we took Gaara because we needed him, as well will eventually do with you, but you're not needed today." Itachi said.

"Consider yourself lucky, kid." Kisame said.

"We've come to make a proposal. Come join akatsuki with us. Surrender the nine tailed fox. Our leader promises you your life back in return. You'll be amongst great ninja."

"Join akatsuki, forget it!" Naruto said.

"You little idiot, do you know who you're talking to? Think about it fool! You'll be welcomed instead of rejected, unlike your village." Kisame said.

Naruto looked down, remembering the pain and hatred he used to feel.

"No…I…have real friends here who accept, never judge me, people who…respect me. You guys are just a bunch of scum bags!"

"You little…that's it!" Kisame reached for his sword.

"No, Kisame!" Itachi said.

Kisame stopped in his tracks but it was too late. Naruto quickly attached a paper bomb to a kunai and threw it near Itachi and Kisame's feet. They moved before the explosion which sent a sound shockwave throughout the village.

Kakashi quickly looked up from the memorial. Tobi also turned his attention towards the west.

'Uh-oh it sounds like things didn't go as planned.'

Kakashi quickly sped off towards the explosion.

'Looks like I should go too.' Tobi said looking around for anyone near by. He was about to leave when something in front of the memorial caught his eye. A pair of goggles and a black leaf head band. Tobi cautiously approached the memorial.

'I wonder who these belonged to. Perhaps that mans friends?'

He quickly left, not wanting to spend anymore time in the village.

'Strange. I've always liked those types of goggles. Too bad I can't wear one with this mask.'

It wasn't until the dust from the explosion cleared that Naruto noticed Kakashi beside him.

"Kakashi-sensei, what are you doing here?" Shocked but relieved his sensei had come to help him.


	11. Chapter 11: The subconscious truth

"Well I went for a little walk when I heard the explosion from your paper bomb, although I never imagined I'd find you two her

"Well I went for a little walk when I heard the explosion from your paper bomb, although I never imagined I'd find you two here again after our last encounter."

"It's good to see you again, Kakashi." Itachi said.

"Yeah, I'm sure." Kakashi said.

"I see you've finally recovered from your last bout using your mangekyou sharingan. It's too bad you're still having troubles using it. But then again, you're not an Uchiha, but you're poor friend was, wasn't he?"

Itachi's words made Kakashi's blood boil. What was worse is that he was right. Kakashi is not an Uchiha, and therefore has some difficulties mastering sharingan.

"Cut the crap, what are you guys doing here? Here for Naruto again, are you?"

Fortunately for the both of you that isn't the case this time. As I've already told Naruto, we're only here to talk to him. I've asked him to join our ranks amongst the other ninja in akatsuki, something he foolishly declined." Itachi said.

"I don't see how foolish it is to make a smart decision like that." Kakashi said.

"You see, if Naruto joins us, it'll make it easier on both him and us. We take his kyuubi, something he is shunned for in this village, and in return he is given a fresh start. We promise to restore his life." Itachi said.

"And what will happen to the tailed beasts, Itachi?" Kakashi asked.

"I'm not going to spoil our plan, but I will tell you that they're kept in our sealing statue, something I'm sure you've already figured out." Itachi said.

"So are you planning to take over the world?" Kakashi asked.

"Enough chatter, already! I'm sick of standing around! If the kid won't join us then I say we take one of them out! How about you, Kakashi? With you out of the picture it'll be much easier to capture Naruto." Kisame said.

"Not on your life, Kisame!" Kakashi said taking out two kunai's.

"Ha, is that all you got? This will be easier than I thought!" Kisame quickly pulled out his sword and blocked Kakashi's on coming attack.

Kakashi struggled to keep Kisame's blade from slicing his arms.

'Unbelievable. I'm struggling to keep only the tip of his sword up.' Kakashi thought.

Kisame laughed. "Now you know why I'm apart of the legendary seven swordsman. I wonder if you'll fare better against me than Itachi. When Asuma first fought me, he didn't do so well either."

Kakashi let out a grunt of anger as he pushed away from him, but Kisame managed to get a small slice in as Kakashi backed away. He let out a small cry of pain. Naruto quickly pulled out a kunai as he started towards his sensei.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Naruto. Trying to help your sensei will only cause you to be in the way."

Itachi's words of warning stopped him in his tracks.

"Think about it. Do you really think you're capable of holding off Kisame when Kakashi struggles to? You didn't do well against me, and if you do chose to attack, I'll have to join in. Do you really think you're sensei can fend off the two of us?"

Naruto looked down. Itachi was right. He couldn't hold him off on his own and any attempt would only further put their lives at risk. He clenched his teeth as he shoved his kunai back into its holder. He could only watch the epic battle.

"Good boy." Itachi said.

Kisame smiled. "Good now we can finish our little battle in peace. Are you ready to go again, Kakashi?"

Kakashi put his kunai's in front of him as he ran forward once more.

Meanwhile Tobi was minutes away from the others.

"The fighting, it's getting louder. I'm getting closer. I should probably detour around them so I can quietly slip out."

He made a wide turn to the left when he quickly looked back.

'Someone's coming. Hmm, am I being followed? I'm positive there was no one else around. It must be because they heard the explosion. The sound of it was a small muffle from my distance but could still be heard clearly so they must have been close by. In that case, I should hurry along.'

Tobi quickened his pace. It only took him a few minutes to reach the battle. From his distance atop the trees he could see Kakashi and Kisame still battling.

"Hmm I won't be able to escape right now unnoticed. I'll have to wait for an opening.' He thought.

Suddenly Itachi looked behind him. Kisame also stopped in his tracks.

"Itachi, do you sense that?" Kisame asked.

"Yes someone's coming. Alright, let's get going. This battle has carried on far too long and is attracting unnecessary attention." Itachi said.

Kisame put his sword back in it's holder behind his back.

"Well it looks like you got lucky this time, Kakashi. I guess I'll fight you next time."

He jumped back beside Itachi.

"You two aren't getting away!" Kakashi said charging towards the two.

Itachi quickly performed a hand seal.

"Fire style: great fire ball jutsu!" He breathed in and then let out a large breath of air that immediately turned to fire.

Tobi quickly transported out of the way to conceal his movements as Kakashi and Naruto took shelter behind a large oak tree. When the fire cleared Kakashi and Naruto turned around.

"They got away." Kakashi said angrily. "Naruto, what were you thinking meeting with those two?"

"I didn't know it was them, honest! I had just walked out of the ramen shop when they called me out. I figured if they were up to no good that I was best to lead them away from the innocent people. That's why I used my paper bomb, to attract attention if I got in trouble."

"I see. Although I can't condone meeting with strangers, especially at night, you did do the right thing by leading them away. Just remember if you're going outside of the village to keep it inside so that you're not cut off from help." Kakashi said.

Naruto nodded his head. As they turned to walk back to the village, Yamato arrived.

"Sorry I'm late. I was just awoken from the loud explosion I heard coming from here. Are you two alright?" Yamato asked.

"Yes we're both fine. I have a small graze but I can take care of it myself." Kakashi said.

"That's good to hear. So what went on anyway?" Yamato looked around at the damaged area.

"Itachi and Kisame were here, but I'll explain it all while we walk back to the village." Kakashi said.

Kakashi and Naruto explained everything in detail about Kisame and Itachi's return. They stopped near Tsunade's office.

"Tsunade should still be up so I'll explain the situation to her. You two should go home and get some rest." Yamato said.

Kakashi and Naruto nodded as they parted ways.

Back in the hokage's office Tsunade had just put everything away to head home when she heard a knock on the door.

'Who is that at this hour?' She thought angrily. "Come in."

To her surprise, Yamato stepped in. "What are you doing here, Yamato, and why so late? I'm off to head home!"

Yamato put his hands up. "I know, I know, but I have important information to tell you that can't wait until morning."

"What is it?"

"It's about Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki. Both of them arrived in the village tonight."

"What? How did they get through?"

"Apparently they knocked our watchmen unconscious but I will tell you what Kakashi-senpai and Naruto told me."

"I'm listening."

Yamato explained the night's events, and the concern of the new member, Tobi.

"I see. So starting tomorrow, I want anbu on the watch every day starting from the early evening considering we don't have many members at our disposal. But I still want a patrol during the day whenever possible. I can't risk this happening again. You may go now, thank you, Yamato. Please give my regards to Naruto and Kakashi."

"Understood, I will." Yamato said.

He disappeared as Tsunade stepped out. She sighed heavily walking down the stairs.

'What is going on these days? If only akatsuki's goals were made clear. But I'll have to keep an eye on Kakashi. I'll need him ready when the time comes.'

Itachi and Kisame had made it back to the hideout just as the sun began to rise. Tobi, who was trailing behind, had made it back as the sun was almost raised. He sat under an oak tree, trying to conserve his chakra. He yawned loudly.

"I guess I'm more tired than I thought. Maybe I'll close my eyes just for a little bit."

He slowly closed his eyes for only a few moments but quickly fell asleep.

In his dream, Tobi stood in an open field. It was raining so hard he could see it coming down in sheets. He looked around, confused.

'Where am I? Am I in the same kind of village?' He looked up. 'I must be in a village but I don't recognize this place.'

Suddenly a stone structure appeared. He looked down at it. He could see that there were names engraved in the stone.

"Hey wait; this is the same memorial I saw back at that other village. But what is it doing here? Is this really a dream or am I still in the village?"

He stared at the memorial for a few minutes. He read the names on the stone carefully until a line containing a certain name seemed to glow. Tobi knelt down for a closer look. The glowing name appeared to be in the middle of the stone. He read the name carefully: Obito Uchiha.

'What? I've heard that name before, but what does it have to do with anything, and why does it seem so important. That's not my name and it doesn't involve me.'

From above the grey sky a ray of light from the sun pierced through the clouds like a spear onto a large puddle in front of Tobi. Its reflection shined brightly into his eye. He held his arm over his mask but something in the puddle caught his eye. He leaned over and saw within the water not his reflection, but the image of a young boy.

"What is this?"

The boy's mouth mimicked his every word.

"Who are you?"

Tobi put his arm down, and the boy did the same. Tobi stared wide eyed as his jaw dropped. The image did the same. To Tobi, it was like staring at his own reflection, and yet he wasn't. The boy who stared back at him now had spiky black hair, goggles, and a black coat and pants with an orange trim. This boy looked no more than twelve or thirteen.

'What's going on? Why is this happening?'

Suddenly a hand firmly grasped his shoulder, shaking him. He gasped as he turned around.

"Tobi, Tobi, wake up!" The voice called.

It took him a few minutes to snap back to reality.

"Tobi, wake up! Damn, we're going to be late!"

"Huh, Deidara-san, is that you?"

"Yes of course it's me! Get up before I drag you! We're going to be late for our mission!"

"Oh yeah!" He shot up hitting Deidara in the head.

"Ouch what's wrong with you? Didn't you sleep at all last night? What were you doing?"

"I, uh, was out walking."

"Yeah, right, whatever, let's go." Deidara left Tobi under the tree.

"Deidara-san wait for me!" Tobi ran to catch up.


	12. Chapter 12: Deidara's final act

They ran amongst the tree tops in the early morning light

They ran amongst the tree tops in the early morning light. Although Tobi was focused on the mission, his mind kept wandering back to the dream.

'What was that all about? I've never had a dream like that before. Hmm, Obito…where did I hear that name?'

He thought for a moment. Suddenly Kakashi's image flashed into his mind.

'Now I know! It's from that man, Kakashi! That's right; I first met him at the hide out. How odd that I didn't think of it sooner when I stood near the memorial.'

"Pay attention, Tobi!" Deidara yelled.

"What?" Tobi looked up in time to hit a tree branch and fell back onto the one below.

"I told you to watch where you're going! What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing's wrong, Deidara-san. What's wrong with your temper? Did some of your clay accidentally explode?" He started laughing but was chocked by Deidara's legs.

"I'll show you an explosion if you don't smarten up!"

Tobi gasped. "Ok, Deidara-san. I'll make sure our mission is successful."

"Good." Deidara let go of his neck. "Then let's keep going."

Tobi rubbed his neck as he followed Deidara. 'Then it's settled. After this mission I'm going to find who this Obito was, no more excuses. I'm going to find the answers I'm looking for.'

It took them an hour to reach their destination, the hidden rock village.

"Alright, Tobi, our mission is to take out a highly top ranked jonin, Izawi Noyumi."

"How are we going to get him by himself?"

The two examined the situation carefully. Izawi stood with another ninja at the entrance of the village.

"I'll take care of this. Stay here and wait for my signal. I'll raise my ring so it reflects light, that's when you'll jump in."

"Right, good luck, Deidara-san!" He watched him jump into hiding amongst the thick bushes. 'I'm glad he was able to reattach his arm. He looked funny without any.' Tobi thought.

Deidara quietly snuck between the bushes. He made sure he was in a largely covered area before he made his move. He loudly stepped on a nearby twig.

"Huh, what was that?" The ninja asked.

"It's nothing, probably a rabbit or something." Izawi said.

"Yeah but we need to keep a strict guard, remember? I'll go check it out."

"You sure you don't' want me to come with you?" Izawi asked.

"Nah, I'll be fine." Them man said smiling.

He slowly walked close to Deidara. "Dumb animals, they're cute but sure cause a lot of problems running around the bushes like that."

The man walked through the crowded bushes. He cautiously looked around.

'That's strange; I did hear something coming from this area. Oh well, whatever it was it's gone now.'

He turned around to head back when Deidara placed his hand over the ninja's mouth. His yells were muffled, unable to call for help.

"This is the last mission you'll ever do." Deidara said as he raised his ring into the sun light. The reflection caught off his ring and shined in Tobi's eye.

"That's the signal. Better do this quietly."

He quickly jumped down and pulled out some black string. He came behind the shinobi and wrapped the string tightly around his neck. The rock ninja's eyes widened in shock as he desperately tried to gasp for air. He grasped his hands tightly around Deidara's arm but it was useless, the hold on his neck was too tight. Deidara squeezed tighter on the man's jaw. Within a few minutes, suffocation and darkness consumed the man as he fell hard onto the ground. Tobi dragged the dead ninja deep within a nearby bush.

"Good work, Tobi. Be ready for Izawi."

Tobi nodded. All the commotion didn't go unnoticed. Noting that his friend hadn't returned and the continuous rustling in the bushes, he pulled out a kunai as he ran into the thick green.

"Yuki, are you here? Are you alright?"

Izawi looked around. His friend was nowhere to be seen. A sense of danger told him he wasn't alone. Suddenly a wave of shuriken and kunai came towards him. He turned around in time to block the attack.

"Who's there? Whoever you are, I know that you killed Yuki." Izawi said.

Deidara quickly appeared behind him. "You're right, we did kill Yuki."

He turned around. "How dare you! Just who are you?" Izawi asked.

"My name is Deidara. I'm a member of akatsuki."

"And I'm a part of akatsuki, too." Tobi said appearing behind him.

Deidara smiled. "And that's my partner, Tobi."

"What do you two want?" Izawi asked.

"We're here to assassinate you." Tobi said.

"Well then, let's see you try." Izawi said.

Deidara quickly put his hand in his clay bag and quickly made two clay spiders. He threw them at Izawi but he moved out of the way in time before they could hit him.

'What are those things?' He wondered.

Within a few seconds his question was answered as the clay exploded. He jumped high into the air to avoid it but Tobi followed him up and kicked him hard into the ground. Izawi painfully got up but was hit again by Deidara. Tobi examined his head band. It showed two rocks across the slate of metal. Another rock head band flashed through his mind.

"Look out, Tobi!" Deidara called.

Tobi looked up to see Izawa coming towards him. He tried to react but was kicked hard in the abdomen. He flew back into a tree.

"Get your head out of the clouds, Tobi!" Deidara yelled.

"You should pay more attention!" Izawi said throwing a kunai at Tobi who jumped out of the way.

Tobi looked at Deidara's head band. "I didn't realize we had a mission in your former village, Deidara."

"Yeah I left this pathetic village for akatsuki years ago. My potter house is probably still there."

Izawa examined Deidara carefully. "I remember you now. You were put in every shinobi's bingo book after you abandoned our village, you traitor!"

"Ha like I care, fool!" Deidara said throwing more explosive clay at him.

"I'll take the both of you out! Even you can't stand against your own village's jutsu, Deidara!" Izawi said.

"What does he mean by that, Deidara-san?"

"He's going to use a rock jutsu. Be careful, Tobi." Deidara said.

"You're mine now! Ninja art, earth release: rock lodging destruction!"

The ground shook loudly as Tobi and Deidara struggled to keep their balance. Tobi looked behind him to see a landslide thundering down towards Deidara.

"Look out, Deidara-san!" Tobi yelled.

Deidara looked behind him. He gasped as he attempted to move out of the way, but it was too late. He closed his eyes as Tobi knocked him out of the way. Deidara heard Tobi fall near him as he opened his eyes to see Tobi's right foot trapped between several rocks. Izawi threw several shurikens at tobi and Deidara. Deidara jumped in the air and maximized a clay bird he made while Tobi could only block the attack.

"You two greatly under estimate my abilities, and now you'll pay for it with your lives!" He pulled out a kunai and rushed towards Tobi who managed to catch the kunai inches away from his stomach.

"Face it, there's no escape for you!" Izawi said.

"I…will not die, I refuse to! There is still something that I must do first! Only after that task is completed will I accept death as a shinobi." Tobi said through gritted teeth.

'Damn there's no way I can get Tobi out of there safely without the chance of him being killed.' Deidara thought.

"Deidara-san, I know what you're thinking. If you must use that bomb, then do so! It may kill all of us, but our mission will be complete! It's the only way" Tobi said.

"Are you crazy" Izawi asked.

"I'm crazy enough to risk my life." Tobi said smiling underneath his mask.

Deidara molded a small spider from his pouch. "Get close as you can to Tobi to help loosen the rock but don't kill him." He threw the spider down.

Once it reached the ground it buried itself deep within the landslide near Izawi. Izawi who noticed the clay immediately jumped away.

'What's he trying to do, kill his partner?'

The small clay spider exploded, sending tremors through the ground, but putting cracks through the rocks near Tobi.

'I see he loosened the rock so he could break away.' Izawi thought.

"Ok, Tobi, you better break free and start running! I'm going to release my special attack!"

Deidara began to use the rest of his clay one last time.

"Wow he's not kidding! I better hurry!" Tobi said beginning to panic.

Deidara jumped down from his clay bird. "Hurry up!" He said.

Tobi punched at the rocks until they broke apart.

"I'm not letting you get off that easily!" Izawi ran towards Tobi who was about to teleport when Deidara's clay bird blocked the attack.

"Hold him where he stands." Deidara ordered.

The bird molded itself tightly around Izawi. "Ugh what is this?" He said struggling to break free.

Deidara smiled. "Heh you're attempts are futile. There's no escape for you now."

Tobi took the opportunity and fled as fast as he could. Izawi could only watch as he grunted in frustration.

The clay Deidara was molding was almost done. 'This will be my greatest work, my most powerful explosion yet. I hope you can get away far enough in time, Tobi.' He slowly stepped towards Izawi. "You're about to witness my greatest work, explosive clay art at its best, and my best jutsu."

He smiled once more, his creation complete. He pulled from behind him a medium sized clay bird. He pulled off his shirt, revealing several large mouths on his chest.

"You can't make art explode without first mixing the chemicals at once. To do this, I need a big mouth."

He shoved the clay bird in the large mouth in the middle of his chest. The mouth chewed it for a moment before swallowing it.

"Here we go!"

Deidara's body immediately began to swell like a large balloon until he exploded. A huge mushroom cloud rose as it sent shockwaves across the land like an atomic bomb. Tobi looked behind him as a blinding light engulfed him.

At the time, Kakashi, Yamato, together leading team seven for an akatsuki patrol felt the massive tremor.

"What's going on, this feels like an earthquake." Naruto said trying to stand still.

"Everyone stand your ground! Hold onto something if you have to!" Kakashi ordered.

Everyone held onto a tree each, being rooted to the ground provided the footing needed. The tremors lasted a few minutes. When it was over everyone slowly let go a tree.

"It's not an earth quake, is it, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked.

"No, this was no earthquake but an explosion." Kakashi said looking around.

"Should we go check it out?" Naruto asked.

"That's not a good idea because the explosion was so large there's no telling how much damage there is." Kakashi said.

"I have an idea. I'll send a wood clone to survey the damage. If there's further danger, we'll know." Yamato said.

"That's a good idea." Kakashi said.

Yamato made his wood clone and sent it off towards the north.

"We'll know in a little bit what really happened." Yamato said.


	13. Chapter 13: Terrors in the dark

"Was it an attack from akatsuki again

"Was it an attack from akatsuki again?' Kakashi thought.

They waited ten minutes before Yamato got a message.

"What is it? Where there any survivors? Right, we'll be waiting here." Yamato said.

"What did the wood clone find?" Kakashi asked.

"He said there's a massive crater in the ground. The entire middle of the forest by the hidden rock village is gone. He's also found a ring and it's from one of the akatsuki members. The rock village has started their investigation."

"It's quite foolish to attack near the entrance to a village but they did it with Gaara, and no doubt had to take their target out quickly, but why?" Kakashi said.

"Perhaps he had information on their whereabouts or goals." Yamato said.

"It's a possibility. They don't just take out anyone for no reason. I'm sure we'll find out soon." Kakashi said.

The group waited around for another ten minutes for the clone to return. The wood clone handed Yamato the ring he found. Yamato put it in one of the small pouches of his vest. The wood clone vanished.

"Right, there's nothing left for us here. We should report our findings to Tsunade. It's too dangerous to stay here. If the rock ninja find us they may accuse us of the deed." Yamato said.

The five shinobi sped off as fast as they could back to the leaf village.

"So it was an explosion, Yamato?" Kakashi asked.

Yamato nodded. "Yes, a massive one, and with such power it's highly unlikely anyone around the area survived the blast. My wood clone said that there were two akatsuki members. They must have perished with their target."

"Do you know whose ring that belonged to?" Kakashi asked.

"No but I'll know once we get back to the village." Yamato said.

"So that's about three or four members taken out." Kakashi said.

Yamato nodded. "Which slowly brings us closer to taking the organization down, but there's something I've been wondering."

"What is it?" Kakashi asked.

"It's about Sasuke Uchiha." Yamato said.

Naruto turned his head at the mention of Sasuke's name.

"I'm worried he could pose as a threat to konoha." Yamato paused for a moment. "His brother, Itachi Uchiha, is his main goal, and as far as we know, his only target. We were to meet him, who knows what he'll do."

"I see your point. I've had my suspicions about this too, and I've come to conclude something else." Kakashi said.

"And what is that, Kakashi-senpai?" Yamato asked.

"Do you remember the night Itachi took out his entire clan?" Kakasih asked.

Yamato nodded. "Yes I remember that incident very clearly. We were sent to investigate. It's something I'll never forget."

"Although the incident is reported to be caused by him, I don't think he was alone in the matter." Kakashi said.

"What do you mean? Itachi had an accomplice?" Yamato asked wide eyed.

"That's right. I doubt Itachi was the only one to plot and carry out such a massacre. With the Uchiha's clan elite members and police force, there's no way he could have done it all by himself. Someone was helping him that night from the shadows." Kakashi said.

"I've often wondered that myself but there's no evidence of it." Yamato said.

"I know, and that's why we need to keep a close eye on Naruto. He may be the only one to bring Sasuke back, but akatsuki may use this to lure him into a trap." Kakashi said.

"I agree, but even if Naruto tries to convince Sasuke to come back, I fear his plea will fall upon deaf ears, but Naruto is determined to." Yamato said.

Naruto looked ahead with his eyes lowered. Sasuke is much stronger and with akatsuki after him, retrieving Sasuke now seemed hopeless.

'I won't give up. I'll bring you back home, Sasuke, even if I have to come close to killing you!' He thought.

Sakura turned to look at Naruto. 'He seems sad. I wonder if Yamato and Kakashi were talking about him.'

They were halfway home when the sun began to set. Yamato looked towards the setting sun.

"Kakashi-senpai, it will be night soon, we should find a spot to rest." He said.

Kakashi looked up at the colour changing sky. The clouds were beginning to turn a beautiful pink with a hint of yellow in the west.

"You're right." He said.

"Alright team, we're going to rest where we are for the night. We'll continue tomorrow in the morning." Yamato said.

Everyone jumped down from atop the trees.

"Why are we stopping here? We could make it home tonight if we keep going." Naruto complained.

"There's no point, Naruto. Even if we reach konoha by nightfall, it will be late and we'll all be exhausted. It'll be convenient and much faster to rest now and head back at full strength." Yamato said.

"He's right, Naruto. We shouldn't exhaust ourselves if we don't need to. What if we get attacked in the middle of the night? We won't be able to fight back." Sakura said.

Yamato nodded. "My point exactly, and remember, we're still on enemy ground. We have to keep our eyes open."

"We should move a little further into the woods for further protection." Kakashi said.

The group moved into a think area of the forest. Yamato used his wood jutsu to create a large house. Everyone stepped in.

"Naruto, Sakura, you two get settled in. Yamato and I are going to set up some alarms." Kakashi said.

Sakura and Naruto nodded as they headed upstairs. They chose the biggest room of all to sleep in. They unrolled their sleeping bags and lit several candles. Kakashi and Yamato set up the alarms in silence. Yamato double checked their work when they finished.

He smiled. "Well we shouldn't have any troubles camping out here tonight." He said.

"No, it should be a quiet night." Kakashi said.

"Well what do you say we head in now?" Yamato asked.

Kakashi nodded as they stepped in the warm structure.

"You've gotten quite good at building these kinds of structures, Yamato." Kakashi said.

Yamato rubbed his head embarrassed. "Well you know, I've had a lot of practice since your time in anbu."

"Naruto, Sakura, where are you?" Kakashi called.

"We're in here!" Sakura called back from the end of the hall.

Yamato and Kakashi entered to find Sakura and Naruto sitting on top of their sleeping bags.

Yamato smiled. "I see you two are ready for bed already."

"Well it's not like there's much else to do." Naruto said bored.

Sakura hit him on the top of the head, slamming Naruto hard onto the cold wooden floor.

"Ouch, Sakura, what was that for?" He rubbed his head painfully.

"Don't be so rude!" Sakura said.

"Well why don't we sleep early tonight and head back at dawn?" Yamato asked

"Ok!" Sakura said.

"What about you, Naruto?" Yamato asked.

"Yeah sounds good to me." He said still rubbing his throbbing head.

Everyone slipped into their sleeping bags and blew out the candles placed near them. It wasn't long before all four were asleep, Naruto being the one to fall asleep first. The wind howled late into the night as it blew against the wooden house. Two ninja's slowly approached the wooden structure amongst the shadows, their footsteps masked by the loud wind.

'This is where they're staying?"

"Yes."

The two jumped over the alarms, ringing the bells. Naruto shot straight up. He looked around and saw that everyone else was sleeping.

'What was that, the alarms? But how did the others not hear it? Maybe they're too tired to hear it.' He thought.

The two shinobi slowly opened the door and crept upstairs.

"Can you see which room they're in?"

"Yes, it's the one at the end of the hall."

They slowly approached the door. One of them slowly turned the knob and very carefully began opening the door. Suddenly one of the floor boards creaked.

'What was that, an intruder?" Naruto thought.

He looked behind him and saw two sets of eyes; one pair white and the other red.

"Heh heh, you're mine now!" The voice laughed.

Naruto looked around to see the others fast asleep. 'Wake up! Why don't they wake up?' He thought. "Hey, wake up, we have intruders!" He yelled as loud as he could.

"They can't hear you." The voice said.

The shinobi on the left grabbed his sword. Naruto yelled and placed his arms in front of him as the large sword came down on him, and then darkness.

Naruto shot up again, beads of sweat dripped down his face. "A dream, it was only a dream." He said to himself. Slightly shaking, he slipped out of his sleeping bag and looked outside through a small window.

There was hardly any wind and the bells that were tied along a string sat quietly in their place. He looked out into the distance. He couldn't see anyone. They were all alone in the forest. He quietly walked back to his sleeping bag, hoping that the nightmare that left him shaking would not return.

The sun had risen in what seemed to be a short time. Sakura poked Naruto impatiently.

"Naruto wake up or we'll be leaving late!" She said.

Naruto slowly opened his eyes. "Huh, what is it, Sakura?"

"Get up already! It's almost time to leave. Did you wake up in the middle of the night?" Sakura said.

"Yeah, I did. It took me awhile to fall back asleep." He said.

"Well hurry up!" Sakura said storming off to her bag.

He decided to eat before putting his sleeping bag away. When he packed everything away into his bag, he joined Sakura, Yamato and Kakashi outside.

"Ready to go?" Yamato asked.

"Yes, sorry to keep you waiting." Naruto said.

"There's no need to." Yamato said. "Alright everyone stand back, I'm going to demolish the house." He quickly put his hands together as the structure began to shake. The house came apart in seconds, the wood used to make it slid back into the ground leaving no trace of activity behind.

"Let's get going everyone." Kakashi said.

Everyone quickly jumped high into the trees. Sakura sped up to catch up with Naruto. "So you really didn't' sleep well?"

"No, I had a nightmare." Naruto said.

"What kind of nightmare?" Sakura asked concerned.

"I'm not sure, it all seemed real. There was a wind storm and two ninja went through the alarms and came into the room we were in. I yelled at you guys but you wouldn't wake up. When I looked up at the intruders, one of them had red eyes. And then, one of them swung their sword at me and I woke up."

"Red eyes, do you mean Itachi?" Sakura asked.

"I'm not sure but I think so, but it's nothing, really. It was just a dream." Naruto said.

"Yeah but you should still take precautions. Who knows when they'll strike again?" Sakura said.

"I know but that's hwy I'm going to get stronger through intense training!" Naruo reassured her.

'I hope you're right, Naruto.' Sakura thought.

Within a few hours the group of four made it safely back to the village.

"Sakura, Naruto, you two should head home and rest for the today while Kakashi and I hand in our report. I'll ask Tsunade for the day off." Yamato said.

Sakura and Naruto nodded as they headed to their homes.

"Hey, Sakura, how about we go on a date?" Naruto asked.

"Forget it." Sakura said coldly.


	14. Chapter 14: Secrets of the Uchiha Clan

"Aw come one, I'll pay, I promise

**A/N: **Well first of all I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed my story so far! It's helped me get on the right track with plotting although I don't know why whenever I post a new chapter it double posts the first lines…how odd. Anyway I'm glad you guys are still enjoying this!

"Aw come one, I'll pay, I promise!" Naruto pleaded.

"No, Naruto, I plan on going home. Why don't you ask someone else?" Sakura said.

"Because I don't want to take anyone else on a date." Naruto said.

"Well you're out of luck." Sakura said walking towards her home, leaving Naruto standing in the middle of the four diving roads.

'Ugh he's always asking me on a date. Why can't he ask someone else instead? He knows I'll say no.' she walked near the part of the village that used to host the Uchiha clan. She stopped and stared at it for a few minutes. 'Sasuke used to live here by himself. He probably still wants to go after Itachi, there's no doubt. Perhaps we'll met up with him…but he's with Orochimaru…I wish he could come back home where he belongs.'

A member of the anbu black ops emerged from around the corner. He wore the usual armor with a black cloak and a porcelain mask that resembled a bear. He stopped when he noticed her.

"Oh, hi, I almost didn't see you there." She said.

The anbu member nodded his head.

"You must be patrolling the village. Is it going well?"

The man nodded his head.

'Not very talkative, are you?' She thought. "Well I better let you go back to doing your rounds, bye." She smiled as she left.

The man waved and watched her leave. When she turned the corner he faced the Uchiha clan's area and walked in, carefully examining the police head quarters, stores and houses that used to be inhabited. The place was now like a ghost town, but was open to the public and not taped off like it had been years before.

Before arriving home, Sakura bumped into another black ops ninja.

"Sorry." She said moving aside.

"That's alright." The man said.

"You're more talkative than the other member." She said.

"Oh, that one, well he must be new. We recently hired a dozen members. They're all a little quiet at first." He said.

"Oh I see, well, I'll be going." She said walking across the street to her home.

Back at the Uchiha Clan's village, the anbu member continued to walk around. He noted every building.

'It's hard to believe this place used to be inhabited--' He stopped in front of a large building with the clans crest in the middle.

'What was this building used for?'

The man stepped in and looked around. There were two hallways and a large room in them idle. The clans crest covered the white walls. In the middle room seven vertical green mats covered the floor. In the back was a table centered against the wall with some candles, and a small praying alter.

'This must be a shrine.'

He walked through the room, examining it closely. He noticed that the seventh mat on the far right looked slightly loose. He walked over and knelt down. He lightly knocked on the floor which made a hollow sound. The anbu member removed the mat. He was chocked to find a set of stairs spiraling down into a dark hallway. He took out a chakra tag and used it to create a small flame on the piece of paper. He cautiously walked down the stair case. Although it looked as if no one had been here for several years, it may be housing a shinobi in hiding. He proceeded down the stairs until he came upon another large room. To his left held a small table with another family crest above it, two candles on both ends of the table and a large scroll placed in the middle. To his right lay twenty eight cushions, enough for the attending members.

'This shrine seems to hold a secret meeting place for certain members of the clan, possibly those of the police force.'

The man walked over to the table where he noticed several matches placed beside the scroll. He struck a match from the case and lit both candles that illuminated the room. He blew out the match and picked up the large scroll. He opened it carefully. It read secrets of the sharingan. The scroll explained the abilities of the sharingan, and information on the mangekyou sharingan, explaining the true purpose behind it.

"Unbelievable." He said to himself. "This information has been recorded since the beginning of the clan. But what's more baffling is the truth about using sharingan. It would seem that this was purposely hidden and for good reason. I would have never guessed."

He rolled the scroll back up and placed it back on the table. He took one final look around the room before blowing out both candles. He hurried up the spiraling staircase and put the mat back in its place and walked out of the shrine. He passed by a medium sized house with some extension to it towards the back and stopped to stare at it. He walked up to one of the facing windows to get a closure look. The entrance was a large living room. To the right a staircase leading up towards the left and a small wall dividing the kitchen from the kitchen.

'Hmm I sure would love to live in a house like this. I always loved that kind of a layout.'

He moved on and quickly headed to the anbu head quarters. He followed several anbu members into the building, waving at others who passed by. He headed upstairs where he saw another member walk out of a room on the left. He nodded to the man as he passed by and quickly entered in the second room. There were several filing cabinets placed on both sides of the room and an oak table. He carefully read each label of the cabinet on the left hand side of the room: anbu members, akatsuki members, and past missions. He walked over to the other side of the room and looked at the other labels: current missions, deceased konoha shinobi, and current konoha shinobi. He pulled out one of the drawers and searched through the names. In one profile he found a photo. He grabbed it and placed inside his back pouch. Down the hall he could hear foot steps coming towards the room he was in. He quickly closed the drawers and quietly stepped out. He walked towards the stairs, passing another anbu member.

"Familiarizing yourself with new information?" The member asked.

"Yeah, it's updated often so I don't' want to be kept out of the loop." He said.

"Right, I was advised to do the same too. It's a good habit to get into." The other man said.

"Yes."

"What did you say your name was again?"

"My name is Tenzou."

"Well, Tenzou, I'm Tidus."

He nodded and quickly walked out of the building and into the blinding afternoon sun.

Meanwhile Kakashi and Yamato walked towards Tsunade's office. Tsunade was reviewing newly completed missions when a knock came from her door.

"Come in." She said.

Kakashi and Yamato entered together.

"I'm glad to see you made it back safely, Kakashi, Yamato. How did the mission go?" She asked.

"It was very quiet to be honest, but halfway through our patrol we heard a loud explosion." Yamato said.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "Did you find the cause of this explosion?"

"Yes, I sent a wood clone to investigate and he found this." Yamato handed her the ring.

She examined it carefully. "Hmm this appears to be a ring from one of the akatsuki members. Which one does this belong to?"

"We're not sure, but once I look through the records we'll know." Yamato said.

"Good and I'm sure he also had a partner with him as well. Make sure you put this in a safe place." She handed him back the ring.

"I will." Yamato said.

"Did you find anything else?"

"Yes when my wood clone examined the area he said that it took out half the land, and it's assumed that neither the two akatsuki members nor their target survived." Yamato said.

"I see, so it was an assassination, not surprising." Tsunade said.

"We're not sure of the targets name but he was from the hidden rock village. However, I have a suggestion to make." Kakashi said.

Tsunade looked up. "Go on."

"We'll since it was aktatsuki that lead Naruto away from the village, we should keep him here to train him. I know he won't like it, but right now he doesn't stand a chance against them. Training him with a new technique will help make him stronger to bring Sasuke back, and keep him safe under a watchful eye." Kakashi said.

"I agree. I've been thinking the same thing. It won't be easy but I want you to train with him, Kakashi, and you, Yamato, to lead team seven for now to continue daily patrols. I don't want to send anyone too far from the village, and it'll give us a better advantage. Only when this immediate danger dies down will I allow Naruto to go on B rank missions."

Kakashi and Yamato nodded.

"Yamato, I want you to go now and find out who owned that ring. If our information lists the partner's name, report them both as deceased, but keep your eyes open for more members. We don't know their full potential yet."

"I'll get to it right away. Also, if I may, I have a favour to ask. Naruto and Sakura should rest today and continue work tomorrow." Yamato disappeared.

"Fine, Kakashi, if you're able, I want you to start training with Naruto immediately after today."

"Right, I'll get right on it." He said. He turned to leave.

"One more thing before you go."

He turned his head.

"I know it's hard, but try not to let all this get to you."

"I'll try not to." Kakashi said leaving.

Within a few minutes Yamato arrived at the top floor of the anbu office. He walked into the room on his left and pulled out the akatsuki files. He searched through several of the names before he found a match to the ring. He pulled the folder out of the filing cabinet and placed it on the desk. The folder displayed Tobi's picture.

"Hmm, Tobi, the one person Kakashi-senpai is concerned about. But another member had this ring, didn't they?"

He searched through the folders until he found Sasori's profile. He read both members had Deidara as their partner and pulled out his profile. He placed both profiles on the table. He wrote on Deidara and Tobi's profile deceased.

'Although I haven't seen a body, there's no way neither could have survived that.' He thought.

He pulled out a bag from one of the drawers in the table and put the ring inside it and stapled it to Tobi's profile.

'I'll have to inform the others.' He the files back into the filing cabinet alphabetically. He stepped out of the room and headed to inform the other anbu members.

Meanwhile Kakashi headed for the memorial rock. He would tell Naruto about his training tomorrow. He wanted him to rest, not train because he was pumped up. He decided to take a detour through the bushes. He walked through into the clearing when he saw two faded foot prints on the ground.

'Hmm they're faded but you can still barely make it out. Someone was here, but when? From the looks of these tracks it was almost a week ago.'

Suddenly the image of him standing at the memorial before the explosion flashed through his mind.

'That's night they came, could someone have been watching me? But who was it, another akatuski member? I suppose I shouldn't really worry. Whoever it was, they were curious. I guess if it's relevant, I'll find out whom soon."

Kakashi walked up to the memorial and stood for several hours. He was so deep in thought that he barely noticed Jiraiya appear beside him.

"Kakashi, I'm glad I found you. I figured you'd be here." He said.

"Yeah, I usually am a lot of the time."

Jiraiya looked at the memorial. "Yeah I would be too. I try to come here myself when I can."

"So what did you come here for?" Kakashi asked.

"I have some more information on akatsuki."

"I thought you might."

"Are you in the mood for a little walk?"

"Sure."

Jiraiya waited until they reached the busy streets before continuing. "I'm guessing what I'm about to tell you, you may already know, but there's some that you don't as well."

"What is it?"

"Well I heard on your last mission that there was a little explosion nearby, which obviously was caused by akatsuki. I doubt Yamato had had time to update you on his findings. He's probably informing the others by now. Anyway, the two members that were involved in the explosion were Deidara and his partner, Tobi."

"Interesting, Yamato found one of their rings near the explosion, but I don't know who it belongs to yet."

"Hmm my guess is it belonged to Tobi, considering Deidara was Sasori's partner and worked with explosive clay, he was most likely the one to blow a huge crater into the ground. Besides, his body most probably disintegrated on impact, but it doesn't explain how one of their rings survived."

"Perhaps Deidara gave his partner a warning to run away."


	15. Chapter 15: Jiraiya's warning

"Well that is a good theory but if Deidara didn't survive, how could Tobi or the ring

"Well that is a good theory but if Deidara didn't survive, how could Tobi or the ring?" Kakashi asked.

"It's possible it was tossed away far enough to survive. It's quite a mystery. Anyway, the catalyst of all this was their target, Izawi Noyumi." Jiraiya said.

"Was he a member of the hidden rock village?" Kakashi asked.

"Yes he was and a highly skilled jonin. No doubt that they started an investigation shortly after." Jiraiya said.

"Yeah they did. Yamato said his clone saw them coming." Kakashi said.

"Hmm I wonder why their target was just him. Well there's something I have to tell you." Jiraiya said.

"It's about Naruto, right?" Kakashi looked at Jiraiya.

"Yes akatsuki is becoming more aggressive and impatient by the day and it's only going to get worse. It's only a matter of time before they catch the other tailed beasts. Once they do, it'll be much easier to capture Naruto. I'm sure their leader won't hesitate to send all of the remaining members if he has to." Jiraiya said.

"Yeah there's no doubt. That's what worry's me. They already have half the tailed beasts already. If they all attack at once, no matter how many we have, it won't be enough. There's a possibility the village wont' survive." Kakashi said.

Jiraiya smiled. "I wouldn't worry too much, Kakashi. There's still time left and besides, Tsunade wont' let the village go to shambles. She'll take action before that time comes, and if need be, start another war, although with akatuski it's impossible to avoid at this point."

"Yeah I know and in such peaceful times. Tsunade already instructed for me to keep Naruto here and train him to the fullest extent possible." Kakashi said.

"That's good because he's going to need all the training he can get." Jiraiya pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Kakashi. "You should keep that on you at all times. I have a feeling you're going to need it."

Kakashi opened the paper. It had the eight trigram seal surrounded by two more seals. "This is some kind of seal, but it has the seal for the nine tailed fox."

"That's right, and it can only be used once with this." Jiraiya handed him another paper seal.

"I have to use both, but why?" Kakashi asked.

"My guess is that they may get him, which I hope not. This is a fail safe. Other than giving up your life to restore another, these seals allow you one chance to save Naruto. Placing one seal on the statue and another on Naruto will recall his spirit from the beast seal." Jiraiya explained.

Kakashi stared at Jiraiya, still confused.

Jiraiya explained further. "This technique requires two skilled ninja with large amounts of chakra such as your self. One person stand near the statue and activates the eight trigram seal or beast soul summon, with their own chakra while the other does the same with the soul recall on the individual. Because the tailed beast's soul and the host's soul are one inside the body, the only way to save the individual is to divide the two souls. If done correctly, the fox's soul will be transferred into the statue, while the individual's soul will be drawn back into their body, restoring life. It's like experiencing a near death experience. I know giving akatsuki the nine tailed fox isn't a good idea but this is the only way it can be done. Plus, it removes the beast from inside of Naruto, destroying any ties and confrontations he'll have with him and give us a chance at destroying it."

"It sounds risky. I'm sure this won't be easy to perform. How did you learn about this?" Kakashi asked.

"Well you can thank the toad elders for that. They showed me how to make the seal. Remember, Kakashi, you only have one chance to do this, so timing is everything. If the seals aren't put on synchronized, the seal wont' work and it has to be done while the soul is being drawn out." Jiraiya said.

"Right, I'll remember that thank you." Kakashi said.

"That's all the information I've managed to collect so far. I have to continue more research for my new book. I'll see you later."

Jiraiya disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Kakashi looked at the two seals. 'Just one chance, I better hope it doesn't ever come to that.'

He put the seals in his vest pocket and headed to the ramen shop. There he saw Naruto on his fourth bowl of ramen. He slurped it loudly but finished with a satisfied smile.

"Oh, hi, Naruto, enjoying you're lunch?" Kakashi asked with a smile.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei, what's up? This pork ramen is really good today!"

"Really, I guess I'll have an order myself." He said sitting down next to Naruto.

"One order of pork ramen, please." Kakashi asked.

"Sure, coming right up!" The owner said.

"So this is all you really eat, eh? You know, Naruto, you really should eat some green vegetables, they're very good for you." Kakashi said.

"Yuck, vegetables are gross. I only like ramen." Naruto said.

'That's probably because ramen is all you've ever had, Naruto.' Kakashi thought sarcastically.

"One more order of pork ramen please! So, Kakashi, what are you doing here? Are you just here for lunch?" Naruto asked.

"Well for the most part. We all have the day off so there isn't much for me to do but there is something I want to tell you." Kakashi said.

"What is it?" Naruto asked.

"I want you to meet me by training ground three tomorrow at noon." Kakashi said.

"Why?" Naruto asked.

"Just meet me there, ok? Think of it as a surprise." Kakashi said smiling underneath his mask.

"Wow I love surprises! I can't wait for it! Is it something special?" Naruto asked with stars in his eyes.

"Yes it's very special, but I want you to rest today, ok? I better not catch you training." Kakashi warned.

"I won't, I promise, believe it!" Naruto said quickly getting up.

'Good because you'll need all your strength for what I'm about to teach you.' Kakashi thought digging into his pork ramen.

Kakashi and Naruto both happily enjoyed their ramen bowls but back at the akatsuki headquarters things didn't go as smoothly. The leader had called another meeting. The remaining images of the members stood the finger that their ring was positioned on.

"Things have not all gone according to plan but we have managed to capture our tailed beasts and take out threatening targets." The leader began.

"Yeah but we're being killed off one by one!" Kakuzu said.

"Yes by the time we've accomplished our goal, half of us could be gone! We've already lost four members!" Kisame said.

"Do I need to remind you why you're all here? You're here as a part of the team to help reach our ultimate goal. You've all left your villages on your own accord and agreed in doing so, willingly to give up your lives if necessary." The leader said.

"Let's not forget we only need four more tailed beasts including Naruto. We still have time." Itachi said.

"That's correct, and not all of you have captured your tailed beasts so keep that in mind before you speak against me again. The reason I called you all to this mission was to inform those who do not know that we have as Kakuzu said, lost two more members, Tobi and Deidara." The leader said.

"Oh yeah, Zetsu said that Deidara told Tobi to run away before blowing himself up. Ha ha, I always said that he was reckless. I guess not even Tobi could run away fast enough. Oh well, it was nice to have him lift spirits around this gloomy place." Kisame said.

"Tobi himself was not a man of great importance. However, they successfully completed the mission by taking out Izawi Noyumi. He had information on all of us, our location and even our goals. He also single handedly took out one of our members." The leader said.

"Yes but he was nothing special. Even Tobi was better than him." Kisame said.

"Even so, he still posed a great threat. Deidara and Tobi combated him bravely and should be honoured for their loyal efforts to akatsuki." The leader protested.

There was silence for a few moments before Zetsu spoke. "Is there another purpose to this meeting, leader?"

"Yes. After much time I have come up with a plan to capture out tailed beasts. This will take some time but if it's done correctly, we may be able to take two tailed beasts souls at one time." He said.

The leader explained his plan for each tailed beast, one that had taken him several months to plot out due to collecting evidence. Akatsuki was one step closer to their goals and it will only be a short time before they capture them all. The time required would depend on Naruto and Kakashi. No time was allowed to be wasted. Every day that Naruto trains would be crucial to his survival.

'The only good thing is that we no longer need to worry about Tobi's involvement. He was getting too curious. The time for our opportunity will come very soon.' The leader thought.

The next morning Naruto stood waiting at the training ground for Kakashi who was naturally late.

'Sheesh, why do I do this every time? I come on time and he's always late! Maybe I should start showing up late too? No, if I did that everyone would blame me, and Sakura would pound me into the ground.' Naruto rubbed his head, thankful that the large lump on his head was gone. 'Man I can still remember how much it hurt when she punched me on the head. I guess I'll just sit here and wait.'

He lay down and looked up at the clear blue sky. He slowly grew tired as the sun slowly moved through the sky. Before he knew it his eyes began to slowly droop. He fought to keep them open but sleep seemed more ideal. Soon boredom and exhaustion overcame him as he doze off into a slumber. Suddenly he stood in a grass field surrounded by trees. The full moon sat high in the sky illuminating the ground below. The wind blew hard against the trees making the leaves rattle noisily.

'What am I doing outside of the village and hwy is it dark out?'

"It isn't over yet, Naruto." The voice growled as it spoke.

"Who's there?" Naruto called out.

"Do you really think you can fight alone without me? You need me, you're too weak! Without me you're useless. You think the issue you have with me is over? It's not over, not while you still need me." The voice echoed through the night.

"Who are you?" Naruto yelled.

"Look behind you." The voice called out.

Naruto turned around to see the nine tailed fox towering over the land.

"Face it, kid, you can't live without me. Just remove this cursed seal that the fourth hokage placed upon me." The beast spoke.

"No way, he sealed you inside me for a reason and he died saving the village!" Naruto said.

"Well that accursed man you favour so much stands over there." The fox pointed towards his right.

Naruto turned to see the fourth hokage atop of the chief toad.

"Hey that's the fourth hokage and the toad chief!" Naruto said astonished. He rubbed his eyes.

"Yes that man was the one who trapped me inside since the day you were born. How I loath him and that technique used. If you let me help you, we can finish what I started, together." The fox proposed.

Naruto looked from the demon fox to the fourth hokage. He narrowed his eyes. He faced the demon fox once more.

"I don't want to destroy the village, I want to protect it! I'm going to become hokage some day, believe it!" He stood his ground confidently.

"You foolish boy, do you think you can say no to me?" The demon fox's anger began to rise.

He roared as a strong wind pushed against Naruto. He looked behind him to see the fourth hokage make a quick hand sign as a bright light emitted from him and spread throughout the land. Naruto gasped as he woke up.


	16. Chapter 16: A new attack: wind element!

Naruto gasped as he woke up

0Naruto gasped as he woke up.

"I…I was asleep?" He stood up and looked around. "What was that dream about?"

From a distance he could see Kakashi walking towards him.

"Hey I know I'm late but that's no excuse for falling asleep." He said.

"I couldn't help it, you're always late and I didn't sleep well and got bored, and you're an hour late!" Naruto shouted.

"Well the reason I'm late is because I was up late reading make out paradise, and, well, I was visiting an old friend." Kakashi said.

"So what, you're always making excuses! What did you tell me to come here anyway?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi cleared his throat. "Well I was asked to train you, which I was already prepared to do. Well, let's get starting on your training, shall we?"

"If I'd known that I would have dragged you out here myself! So what are you going to teach me?" Naruto asked with stars in his eyes.

"Well, for starters, I'm going to teach you to start relying on your own chakra, not the nine tailed fox, while at the same time learning to control your emotions and the beast within. Then, I will help you create your own ultimate technique." Kakashi said.

"What kind of ultimate technique?" Naruto asked.

"Well that all depends on you." Kakashi said.

"What do you mean?" Naruto cocked his head to the side.

"This technique will be of your own chakra, or your elemental jutsu, like my lightning blade." Kakashi said.

"So I'm going to have to wait until I control my emotions before I can learn this?" Naruto began to pout.

"On the contrary, you'll be learning this while you learn to control your emotions" Kakashi said.

Naruto scratched his head. "What?"

Kakashi sighed. "By learning to use your chakra to create an elemental attack you'll focus on your own chakra to create and thus learning patience to control your frustration." Kakashi said.

"Oh I see, wow, this is going to be awesome!" Naruto leaned forward. "I can't wait for you to show me how!"

'I have a feeling this is going to be a long day.' Kakashi thought.

Kakashi showed Naruto the use of chakra paper to determine his element, wind. He showed him by using his shadow clones to speed up the process. Naruto spent half the day trying to create his own attack but was unsuccessful. Yamato who had finished his patrol joined Kakashi to watch.

"How are things going with the training?" He asked.

"Not so good. Naruto's making some progress by using a thousand clones but still hasn't produced the chakra necessary. It's understandable, thought. Creating a new jutsu is very difficult but necessary in Naruto's case." Kakashi said.

Yamato nodded his head. "Yes I remember how long it took me to master mine, but this new jutsu will give Naruto and edge against akatuski. Of course that depends on how many times he can produce the attack and if it has any negative effects."

"Yeah and we won't know until he creates it, which I hope will be soon for his sake, we don't' have that much time." Kakashi said.

"Don't worry, Kakashi-senpai, knowing Naruto, he'll succeed before akatuski makes their next move." Yamato reassured him.

Suddenly Naruto stopped and bowed his head. He gave a heavy sigh as he stared dully into the ground.

"What's wrong?" Kakashi asked.

"It's useless, I can't do it, I just can't." Naruto said.

"What can't you do, Naruto?" Kakasi asked.

"This new jutsu, it's too hard, I just can't get the hang of it. The days half over and I haven't done anything." Naruto said.

"Don't' say that, these things take time to learn." Kakashi said trying to encourage him.

"Things **always** take time with me. I know I've been able to do things that seemed impossible before but I can't do it this time, it's too hard." Naruto said defeated.

"What happened to our knuckle headed ninja's optimism? You were always the one saying I don't give up, that's my ninja way." Kakashi said.

"Yes but that's not the same thing this time, it's hopeless." Naruto said.

"The Naruto we all know would scold himself for saying such words." Yamato said.

Naruto continued to look down at the ground with sad eyes.

"What about your dream of becoming hokage? You can't give up now if you want to become hokage. A hokage master's difficult jutsu's so they can protect the village and take a challenge head on and conquers it. You can't hope to become hokage if you stop here. If you do, you'll be throwing your dreams away." Kakasih said.

Yamato smiled. He remembered Kakashi had told him the fourth hokage had said similar words to him when he had lost hope, and Naruto wouldn't allow himself to throw his dreams away for something like this.

Naruto looked up. "Throw my dreams away, why would I do that?"

"Because if you quit, that's what'll happen, but I guess you're not the ninja I thought you'd be. Even Sakura wouldn't give up." Kakashi turned away.

"No way, there's no way I'm letting this get to me! I'm not letting Sakura think I'm a wimp. I've got to prove myself…I'm going to…give this one more shot to master it!" Naruto said, fire ragging in his sky blue eyes.

Kakashi smiled at Yamato. They both knew Naruto wouldn't let himself lose at the chance of becoming hokage. They watched as Naruto and his clones controlled their chakra into their palms. First they formed rasengan, and then tried to form his wind chakra into the swirling blue ball but the rasengan dispersed on contact with his wind chakra. He grunted in frustration. He gave it several more tires before he came up with another idea.

'What if I used my other hand to bring the two attacks together like I did with my rasengan training?' He thought.

Again he formed the rasengan in his right hand and used the other to form a small amount of wind chakra. He slowly moved his hands together and began to compress both chakras together. His hands shook violently before the both energy's dispersed.

"You almost had it, Naruto. That's a good technique but unlike the rasengan you have to keep chakras together at the same level. Your rasengan was consistent but your wind element wasn't at the same level. You have to kept both rotating. Once you get the feel of it in the palm of your hand, it'll be easier to control both of them at once." Kakashi said walking towards him.

"Yeah, I see." Naruto closed his hands. They felt sore and were slightly cut from using both techniques.

"Hey let's take a break today. You've been working hard so we'll continue this tomorrow at 11am." Kakashi said.

"But what about my missions, won't Tsunade give me some?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi looked away.

"No she won't, Naruto. You're main focus is going to be learning a new technique. Tsunade wants you to stay in the village." Yamato said.

"What, does she think I'm going to run off again?" Naruto asked.

"No, it's not like that at all. Tsunade wants to keep you safe from akatsuki because their movements are becoming aggressive. All hosts to tailed beasts are in danger. Besides, you don't stand a chance against akatsuki unless you master this new technique." Yamato said.

Naruto looked at Kakashi who continued to avert his gaze. It was hard for him to tell Naruto.

"I'm sorry, Naruto, but it's true. I don't like it anymore than you do but the only way you're going to be able to stand up to them is by learning how to use this elemental jutsu. What you'll learn will have enough power to take down one of them, and maybe, in a way, surpass me." Kakashi said.

"This technique will surpass even you, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked wide eyed.

"You see, Naruto, you're new technique will surpass Kakashi-senpai's lightning blade." Yamato explained.

"But how, I haven't seen anyone beat your lightning blade!" Naruto said.

"Oh my technique is beatable, but I need my sharingan to use it, you won't. You'll just need to form it, although we're not sure what negative effects it will have until you've used it. You're new technique will have more flexibility." Kakashi said.

Naruto still looked confused.

"Unlike you, Naruto, Kakshi-senpai can only use his elemental justu with sharingan to see a counter attack clearly, and he can only use it four times a day. Without his sharingan, all he'll see is tunnel vision." Yamato said.

"Do you see now hwy it's so important you do this, Naruto? It's literally for your own good. We only want to protect you." Kakashi said.

"I understand now, thank you." Naruto said.

"Come on, let's have some barbeque pork, it's my treat." Yamato said putting his arms around Naruto and Kakashi.

At the barbeque pork shop Naruto sat quietly waiting for the pork to finish cooking. Yamato took notice to his long face with concern.

"What's wrong, Naruto?" He asked.

Yamato's words broke Naruto of his thoughts. He looked down. "Well it's just I was thinking about what you and Kakashi-sensei said earlier. Even if I master this technique, what I fit's not enough to bring down akatsuki?"

Yamato smiled. "Naruto, this new technique will be from your own strength. They won't stand a chance. Don't worry; elemental jutsu's are the strongest. Kakashi-senpai wouldn't be teaching you this if he wasn't confident it would work." Yamato said.

"Remember, Naruto, you're going to become hokage some day. Don't ever forget that." Kakashi said.

Naruto smiled. "Of course not, how could I? I'm going to bring peace to the land when I become hokage!" He looked down and saw that the pork was cooked through and quickly bragged it.

"Careful, Naruto, it's still hot. Let it cool down first before you eat it." Yamato said.

"Pshh, nothing's too hot for me, believe it!" He shoved the piece of meat in his mouth. His face turned red as he began to dance around as he waved his hand at his mouth. Kakashi and Yamato quickly stood up.

'Apparently it is too hot for him." Kakasih said.

"I told you it was hot!" Yamato said.

"Can we get some water, please?" Kakashi said casually.

"Kakashi-senpai, how can you be so calm at a time like this?" Yamato asked.

"You haven't been around Naruto very long. Believe me he does things like this all the time, it's expected. Eventually, it won' faze you anymore, either." He said.

Kakashi watched Naruto dance around the room wildly. 'He looks like a fish out of water.' He thought.

Naruto quickly picked up the water the waiter put down. He guzzled the glass, relieved that the fire in his mouth was gone.

"Wow, I didn't think it would be that bad." Naruto said.

"I did try to warn you." Yamato said.

"I saw that coming." Kakashi said grabbing a piece of pork.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to this." Yamato grabbed some pork as well.

"Don't worry, you won't." Kakashi said.

"Hey I'm not always like that." Naruto protested.

"Well he is our number one knuckle headed hyper active ninja." Yamato said.

Kakashi and Yamato laughed while Naruto pouted in frustration. Outside the barbeque shop an anbu member passed by to look in. He noticed the three shinobi sitting at the far right. He focused on Kakashi. He stood for a moment then quietly walked on. Kakashi stop laughing as he turned his attention to the door.

"What's wrong, Kakashi-senpai?" Yamato asked.

"It's nothing; I just thought we were being watched." Kakashi said.

Naruto looked towards the entrance. "I don't see anyone there now."

"Well we better eat this pork before it burns." Kakashi said changing the subject.


	17. Chapter 17: The capture of the demon cat

The anbu member proceeded to walk outside of the village

The anbu member proceeded to walk outside of the village. He stopped to sit down by a calm river bank.

"Well it's been quite an eventful day. Not quite what I was expecting but I found some useful information."

He took off his mask and placed it on the ground. He took out the picture from the filing cabinet. He looked at the four people in the picture.

'What's a photo like this doing in someone's profile?'

He turned it around. On the back someone had written team seven. He turned it over. The people in the picture now certainly did not look like the current team seven. He examined the face of the boy with the white hair and mask.

'This boy looks familiar.' He thought back to the barbeque shop he just visited. The man in there had the same white hair and mask, save for his left eye that was covered. 'That jonin in the shop, I'm positive it's him!

He's the only shinobi with white hair. This must have been his original team. Why does this man entice me so? It's too risky for me here; I should keep a low profile.'

He threw the mask into the river and stared into the setting sun.

'I've almost pieced the puzzle together. I know that I have more knowledge about this, but I just can't seem to remember. Well now maybe I can start to.' He ran off into the trees as if being pulled by his own destiny.

Far into the land of earth, Hidan and Kakuzu grinned widely, finally having the opportunity to have their own biju captured.

"Alright, let's get this one over with, Kakuzu." Hidan said.

Kakuzu put an arm in front of Hidan.

"Hey just what's your problem? I want to end this now!" Hidan said loudly.

"First of all keep your voice down. Second, before you rush off take a look around. The streets are full of people. If we start now, we'll bring uproar and it'll be hard to capture the four tailed cat. It will be easiest to do this at night. We'll get her when she's done her training and she's all alone." Kakuzu said.

"But I'll take forever waiting for nightfall to come!" Hidan said impatiently.

"Well you go on ahead if you want to, I'm staying right here." Kakuzu jumped into the thick trees.

Hidan grunted loudly in frustration as he joined his partner. Although he technically was immortal, taking on a while village would be difficult and he needed Kakuzu to sew him back together if he was blown apart. The two quietly waited until the sun had fully set. Neither liked each other but the made the perfect team, and there were no changes unless one of them died.

"Hidan, do you see her over there in the forest?" Kakuzu asked as he spotted the girl.

"Yeah, yeah, I can see her, so what now genius?" He asked sarcastically.

"Well let's draw her away from the village." Kakuzu jumped down and ran to intercept the girl.

The young woman who was heading home stopped when she saw two dark figures.

"Hey do you want to move out of the way? I'm tired and I want to go home." She said annoyed.

"Sorry, we can't do that. You see, we've been waiting for you for a long time." Kakuzu said.

"Yeah and I'm not going to wait any longer. You're coming with us, Yugito." Hidan said.

"Who are you? Come out into the light or I'll attack!" She said pulling out several kunai.

"Those useless weapons won't help you against us." Kakuzu said stepped out with Hidan.

"Who are you two? I don't recognize you from our village so how do you know my name?" Yugito took several steps back.

"You're right, we're not a part of your little village, but we know all about you. We've been collecting data for years." Hidan said.

"So just where are you losers from?" Yugito asked.

"Losers, why you- - woman, you sure know how to fire me up for battle! Well I guess we can tell you, you'll die eventually regardless." Hidan said.

"We're from akatsuki, and we're not exactly after you, Yugito, we're after what's inside of you." Kakuzu said.

"You two mean you're after the four tailed cat beast?" Yugito asked.

"Exactly, now enough talk, I want to do this quickly. I've waited long enough so I don't care what you want to do, Kakuzu." Hidan said.

"I was about to suggest the same thing, partner." Kakuzu said.

Kakuzu ran towards the young woman. She jumped high up, reaching the tops of the trees while throwing kunai's and shurkens. Hidan pulled out his scythe which had three blades instead of one. Kakuzu moved out of the way. Yugito smiled as she pulled her arms back, the moonlight revealing two thin black chords, pulling the weapons back towards Hidan and Kakuzu. Kakuzu blocked the second attack and cut the string. Hidan used his three bladed scythe to block the wave of metal as well but instead grabbed onto the string and pulled the woman down. Yugito helplessly darted down towards Hidan as he cut the string and used the base of his weapon to jab Yugito hard in the abdomen. Her eyes widened as she gasped in pain. Kakuzu took this opportunity to punch her hard into a tree.

"She isn't as strong as the others, eh, Hidan? Although more skilled but she's been training. I'm guessing it would be harder is she hadn't." Kakuzu said.

"Yeah, she's definitely fatigued but don't underestimate her. I don't want to sew my head back on again." Hidan complained.

"Your partner's right, you shouldn't underestimate me because you're both in perfect range for my special attack!" Yugito pulled out three strings with paper bombs and kunais' attached. "Ninja art, one thousand kunai's of death!"

She threw the weapons at Kakuzu who barely managed to escape with a few scratches. Hidan wasn't as lucky as the Kunai's multiplied into a thousand. They hit him and the ground around him with god like speed and accuracy. Kakazuzu took cover behind a tree as a large explosion illuminated the village. The sound rippled through the village. The tsuchikage of Iwagakure stood up quickly from his desk.

"What in the worlds was that?" He shouted as he gazed towards the forest. "Is there an attack on the village? Koji, get our top elite jonin to investigate immediately!"

"But they're all home at this our!" Koji protested.

"I don't care! Did you not hear the loud explosion just now?" The tsuchikage said.

"Well yes, but--" Koji was cut off.

"Then go now, leave!"

"Yes sir!" Koji ran to locate the group of jonin.

When the smoke cleared Kakuzu peeked from around the tree to see that his partner was blown half a yard away with his right arm and head missing.

"Damn it, Kakuzu, I said not to underestimate her! What part of I don't want to lose my head don't you understand?" He yelled.

"I didn't think a chuunin of her level would have such a strong attack." Kakuzu appeared beside his partner.

"Damn it, you're lucky it wasn't you, although it should have been! Now sew me back together so we can finish this." Hidan said.

"Yeah, yeah, keep your head on." Kakuzu said.

"That's not funny!" Hidan said offended.

Yugito stared at them in shock. 'That's impossible! No one's ever survived that attack before! Is he somehow immortal? These guys are really dangerous! I hope my explosion alerted help.' She thought.

Kakuzu picked up Hidan's arm and head.

"Good now sew the head on first." Hidan ordered.

Kakuzu took some string from his body and began sewing Hidan's head back on.

"Ow, that hurts; can't you try and be less aggressive?" Hidan said.

"There's no time to be, you know that." Kakuzu said.

Within a few minutes he successfully attached Hidan's head and started on his arm.

'This is unreal. I better think of a plan now and fast.' Yugito thought.

After a few minutes Kauzu had properly sewn Hidan's arm back on.

"There all done. Sometimes I wonder what you'd do if I wasn't here to quickly sew you back together." He said.

"Shut up, you know I can't do it myself. Look let's just do this quickly. That explosion caused some kind of alarm no doubt." Hidan said.

"Yes it most likely did. Well let's collect her blood first." Kakuzu said.

He ran at Yugito throwing kunai's which she easily dodged. Then it was Hidan's turn. He threw several kunai's himself and some thread that looked invisible in the dark. She jumped away into the thread and became entangled in it.

"Oh no, now I'm trapped!" She frantically tried to free herself.

"You're trapped just like a rat." Kakuzu said throwing more kunai's at her.

She had just enough time to jump down from the tree, freeing herself in mid air.

"Ninja art, twin water dragon jutsu!" Kakuzu said forming hand signs.

Using the water from a nearby stream, he sent his two water dragons smashing Yugito into a tree. Hidan took the chance and jumped up with his scythe and swung it towards her head. She jumped towards a nearby branch but was grazed by one of Hidan's blades. She grunted in pain as she collapsed onto the branch.

Hidan smiled. "Perfect, even a small amount of blood is good enough. Ninja art, jushin seal!"

Hidan attempted to perform his seal when Yuhito transformed into the demon cat.

"Great, this is the last thing we needed." Kakuzu said.

"Don't worry I have her blood." Hidan said.

"Good then we just need to trap her."

Kakuzu avoided what would have been a deadly attack. The beast roared as she spat out a large energy ball, causing Hidan and Kakuzu to take refuge under ground.

The cat beast looked around angrily. Suddenly Kakuzu appeared from the ground.

"Ninja art, water destruction!"

Kakuzu's justu brought upon a large wave that swept the cat demon into the water, attempting to immobilize it under the swirling water.

"Let's see if that was enough to hold her down.' Kakuzu thought.

He waited for a few moments before he called Hidan out.

"Alright, Hidan, you can perform the- -" He cut himself off by the appearance of the demon cat emerging from the water angrier than a hornet.

"This isn't good but I can still easily finish her off."

Kakuzu ran around the demon cat, careful to avoid its deadly blows.

"Ninja art, twin water dragon jutsu!" He stood in his place as he watched his jutsu drill the cat into the ground. The cat attempted to get up but Kakuzu threw several kunai's at its front paws and tail before it could disperse his attack. The cat cried in pain.

"Now is your only chance, Hidan." Kakuzu called.

"I can see that already, Kakuzu!" He formed quick hand sign. "Ninja art, jashin ritual seal!" He buried his three blades into the ground. Yugito's blood dripped from the blades and spread onto the ground to form a large triangle seal.


	18. Chapter 18: Tobi's hidden memories

A/N: I had a lot of fun writing this chapter because it gave me a chance to really get into depth about Tobi's past and the c

**A/N: I had a lot of fun writing this chapter because it gave me a chance to really get into depth about Tobi's past and the catalyst that would bring him to the truth. I would like to thank catgirl9696 who has been reviewing almost every chapter, and of course, to the others once again who have reviewed several times, good and bad, as it's helped with the structure of the story ) It really means a lot, guys, as I try to review story's myself as it means a lot to others too.**

He buried his blades into the ground. Yugito's blood slowly dripped from the blades and spread onto the ground to form a large triangle seal.

Hidan smiled. "You're finished now, demon cat."

He took out a kunai and stabbed himself above his heart. Yugito slowly transformed back to her former self from the pain infliction from Hidan's jutsu. Hidan waited a few moments before punching himself in the stomach, ultimately knocking Yugito unconscious. Kakuzu walked over to her and picked up her unconscious body.

"Your seal worked like a charm as always." Kakuzu said.

"Of course it did you idiot. It's never failed me." Hidan said proudly.

"Alright, let's get out of here, I can hear others coming." Kakuzu said.

"Since when did you decide to give the orders?" Hidan said.

"I didn't, but if you want to fight a whole village, suit yourself." Kakuzu said running off.

Hidan swore under his breath as he followed Kakuzu off into another akatuski hide out.

Far from the land of earth, the man who had temporarily used the name Tenzo had stop running to take a break near a few shops.

"I'm almost there now. I should probably take these anbu clothes off too. It's getting hot with these two layers."

He quickly stepped out of the armour and shoved it into a bush near a little snack shop. "Well now that I'm a little cooler I should continue to head to the hide out with no stops now. There's no time to waste."

Suddenly his stomach growled. "Well I suppose I should make time for a little food."

He walked into the first shop he saw. The woman at the front desk looked at him oddly.

"And order of your number one special please." He said.

The woman nodded. "Of course, that'll be twenty six twenty."

He handed her the money and waited for his food before he took it outside to eat. He sat on a rock over looking a small stream. He looked down into the water. His black clothes trapped the heat from the sun. Only his mask seemed to allow his skin to breath. He took his time enjoying his meal.

"Ah barbeque pork is my favourite, but I remember someone used to make this all the time for me. From now on, more disguises. I'm sick of hiding."

He ate every piece from his plate, his hunger now satisfied, but eating fast left a slight stomach ache. He walked around the forest, enjoying the view for once, only half paying attention as he allowed his thoughts to run through his mind. He stopped when he heard a voice off into the distance.

He silently followed the sound of the voice until he saw Zetsu standing over a dead body, contemplating his other half whether or not to devour it.

"Our leader will be impressed that we took down another spy. We can't afford any outsiders to discover out hide out."

"Yes we mustn't have that, not when we're this close. But what should we do about him? No point leaving him out here to rot."

"No but I am kind of hungry."

"You're always hungry. Well make up your mind, do you want to eat him or not?"

'That's Zetsu-san!' He thought.

"Hmm, I guess so; I don't want anyone to see him." 

"Then do it quickly se we can get out of here."

He watched Zetsu pull the man towards him like a fly trap. Within a few minutes any trace of the man was gone.

"It's a shame Tobi's gone. He was a good partner, even if we had to keep that memory a secret."

"Yeah but it is for the best. If he had learned of it, his allegiance could change, and he'd only become an obstacle regardless."

"Still it wasn't an easy thing going through that mess to get him. That was annoying."

"Yes but you shouldn't talk a loud about this."

"Why?"

"Because I don't feel comfortable and we're supposed to be keeping a look out. You're distracting me."

"Sorry."

Zetsu turned around and began heading towards the forest.

"Oh no, he's heading my way! I've got to get out of here."

He turned around to face another ninja. The man's startled him, causing him to fall to the ground. The world around him became black as foot steps echoed towards him. He didn't know how long he was unconscious for, but when he awoke he was lying down on a bridge. He slowly sat up.

"Where am I? Was I moved? This looks like the village where we killed Izawi."

He saw two ninja's run towards a large cave to his left.

"What was that? Am I in the middle of a war? I better be careful."

He quickly followed the two to the cave where he saw them rescue their comrade. Tobi gazed at the young boy with the short black hair and the newly activate sharingan.

'That boy, he's appeared several times in my dream, but why? Who is he? What are you trying to show me? What does this event have to do with me?'

He concentrated on the young boy's use of the sharingan. 'The way he uses those eyes, he must be an uchiha.' Tobis' thoughts were interrupted suddenly be the three running from falling rocks. To him it was like watching a real live movie. It was pointless to try and shield themselves from the rocks. All the young ninja's could do was flee. Suddenly a rock came down on the young white haired boy hard on the back of the head. He hit the ground face first.

'Oh no, he's injured.' He thought.

He gazed at the young boy with the short black hair.

'That boy, what is he trying to show me?'

He concentrated on the young boy's sharingan. "The way he uses those eyes, he must be an uchiha.' Tobi looked at the young uchiha. He was looking up at the ceiling. He followed his gaze and saw a very large boulder falling down towards the unconscious boy. Both he and Obito dove towards him.

"Look out!" Tobi yelled as he passed through the both of them. He fell down beside the young Kakashi and watched him slowly come to.

He looked at himself. "I dove towards him to try and push him out of the way but I passed right through them. I must be in some sort of dream."

The young Kakashi looked over at his friend as his eyes widened in shock. "Obito!" He cried running towards him.

Tobi quickly looked up to see Obito's right side of the body buried under the large boulder.

"That boy saved his life." He ran over to the fallen ninja. He tried grabbing his hand to help to pull him out but his hand passed through him like a ghost. "That's right, I can't touch them. Hey try to quickly break the boulder! You don't' have much time, hurry!"

The young Kakashi ignored him. He only continued to call his dying friends name as he frantically tugged at his arm. Tobi lowered his eye in sadness. "It's useless; they can't hear me nor see me. I can't do anything for them. All I can do is watch but why? What is this, a memory, but who's, the white haired boy's?"

"Kakashi, it's useless, I can't feel my right side. I won't be able to come back with you. You have to get out of here." Obito said.

"So Obito is the boy trapped and Kakashi is the one who he saved, so who is she?" He asked himself looking at the young girl standing on beside Kakashi.

He watched the medical ninja, Rin, carefully transplant Obito's eye to Kakashi's damaged eye socket.

'So this must be how he acquired it. But what about the boy, he's trapped!' Tobi's thought as his eye slowly began to well with tears.

"Now I can give you two the strength to live on."

Tobi heard Obito's final parting words as the rock ninja attempted to crush the other two once more. He watched painfully as Kakashi bid his final farewell to their fallen friend before leaving the cave. Tobi continued to watch Obito become covered in rocks.

'That's not fair, he deserves a second chance.' He thought.

The rocks stopped as quickly as they began to fall. He could still see a part of Obito's face. It seemed as though several hours had quickly passed in minutes because he heard someone enter the cave.

"Is this the place?"

"Yeah, this is where the boy fell."

"Where is he?"

"Over there under those rocks."

Tobi watched the dark figure slowly remove the mountain of rubble.

"Is this the young boy he talked about?"

"Yeah he fits the description, but he doesn't look quite dead yet."

"Should I eat him?"

"Let's see what we can do. I want to bring him back."

"Maybe he'll make it."

The scene slowly faded out into darkness. Tobi heard himself moan as he stirred slightly. He slowly opened his eyes and waited for his vision to come into focus. When it did, he awoke to find a toad hermit sitting near a fire, his jacket placed over him like a blanket. He moaned slightly as he rubbed the large bump on his head. It pounded like a drum.

"I see you're finally awake, that's good. How do you feel?" He asked.

"A little tired, actually, and I have a head ache." Tobi said slowly sitting up. He held up the jacket. "Is this yours?"

"Yes, I placed it over you to help keep you warm."

He took the jacket from Tobi and put it on.

"How long was I unconscious for?"

"You were out for several hours. I was getting a little worried. Do you remember your name?"

"Yes, my name is Tobi."

"Do you have a last name?"

"No, at least I don't' think so. I don't remember having one."

"I see. Well my name is Jiraiya, one of the legendary sanin." He said standing up proudly.

"Legendary sanin, I don't think I've heard of you."

Jiraiya's jaw dropped. "You're kidding me, right?"

"Tobi looked at him more closely. "Hmm well now that you mention it I have heard of you, another was Orochimaru, Sasori's old partner."

"That's right, and don't you forget it." Jiraiya smiled. So, do you remember how you fell?"

"Yes I remember I was watching Zetsu-san when the appearance of someone made me jump.' Tobi said.

"Well that was me and I do apologize but what were you doing there in the first place?" Jiraiya asked.

"I wanted to get some answers about my past so I followed Zetsu-san but why did you follow me?"

"I wasn't following you I was gathering information on akatuski. Do you have any affiliation with them?" Jiraiya knew well that Tobi was with akatsuki but was shocked to find him still alive. However, Kakashi had his suspicions about him and there were uncanny and strange coincides that could not be explained. And like Kakashi, Jiraiya suspected that Tobi was not who he seemed to be.


	19. Chapter 19: A deadly duel with akatuski

"Uh, yeah, something like that

"Uh, yeah, something like that." Tobi said.

Jiraiya knew Tobi was trying to hide his involvement and keep a low profile so he focused on his mysterious past.

"So, Tobi, what is it about your past that drove you to investigate on the organization?"

"It's a little hard to explain…I'm not sure exactly who I am. It feels like something is being hidden from me on purpose, but I have these dreams that feels like something is trying to emerge."

Tobi wasn't sure why he was confiding in this man who was a complete stranger to him, but he felt as if he could help him with his mystery, somehow trust him. He looked down. He realized that if Jiraiya was collecting data on akatuski that he must be an enemy. Zetsu had warned him about this often but Jiraiya was different. He didn't see him as an enemy, but rather an ally. Then again, ever since the strange dreams he didn't feel any affiliation to akatuski, but only to Deidara and Zetsu or those he trusted as friends. Since his walk through the leaf village he had decided to not go back to allow them to think he was dead. There was a voice inside he could no longer deny.

"What's wrong?" Jiraiya asked.

"Oh, nothing really, I was just thinking of the strange coincides." Tobi said.

"What strange coincides?" Jiraiya asked.

"Well in these visions there's a group of three ninja but in the beginning there's only two. One of them is a young boy, no more than thirteen with white hair and a mask. The other is a boy of the same age but with short black spiky hair and goggles, but he is different fro his friend. He has the ability to use something called sharingan."

Jiraiya's hand twitched slightly. 'He's talking about the old team seven, but how is it that he can tell the story of Obito and Kakashi just through a dream? He would have had to been there to know this. He thought.

He nodded his head. "Go on."

"Well thy go into a cave to rescue this girl, but when they do they're spotted and eventually one rock ninja causes the ceiling to start caving in. Halfway through the cave the white haired boy is hit by a falling rock and is temporarily knocked unconscious. His friend sees a large boulder and rolls him out of the way, trapping himself under. Both the other two cry for him as they attempt to free him but it's useless, he's dyeing. Then what

seems to happen is the boy with white hair with the deep scar on his left eye acquires the dyeing ninja's left eye for his damaged one. They leave the dyeing boy in the cave and that's where the dream ends." Tobi looked up at Jiraiya to see him wide eyed.

'Impossible, I thought he was telling the story as if he heard it from another, but he's telling it in first person, as if he was actually there.' He thought astonished at the detail of Tobi's story, for he had left out none.

"Have you ever been to that country before? Do you ever remember being there at the time?" Jiraiya asked.

"No, that's just it. I only remember being there once for a recent mission." Tobi said.

"I see, how odd." Jiraiya looked down.

"But there is something I need to know." Tobi said.

Jiraiya looked up. "What is it?"

"The boy with the white hair and blue mask, is his name Kakashi? And the one with the sharingan's name is Obito?" Tobi asked.

Jiraiya's jaw dropped. There was no way a ninja from another village could know of Obito's name for what happened so long ago.

"Yes but how do you know that?"

"Because in my dream their names are said several times but who is the girl?" Tobi asked.

"Her name is Rin; she was also on their team. Sadly, Kakahsi is the only one left a live." Jiraiya said.

"What happened to the others?" Tobi asked.

"Aside from Obito, Rin years later, died trying to give aid to fellow ninja's, or so I've heard. Their sensei, Minato Namikaze, eventually became the leaf village's fourth hokage. He gave his life protecting the village from the nine tailed fox by sealing it inside Naruto's body." Jiraiya said.

"How sad, what a terrible fate for them all." Toby looked into the clear start filled night sky.

"Yes, everyone close to Kakashi is dead, a terrible fate for anyone to have." Jiraiya said with his eyes lowered.

"It's strange, the name Obtio, it keeps appearing in my dreams as of some importance." Tobi said.

Jiraiya gave this some thought. He was silent for a few minutes before he spoke. "What is the very first memory you have?"

Tobi looked at Jiraiya in surprise. The question caught him off guard. Most of the memories he had were with and before he joined akatsuki, having none of his child hood.

'Did I even have a childhood? I must have.' He thought. "My first memory was awakening in a dark and cold place." Tobi told him of his first memories and how Zetsu had found him, how he spent most of his time alone.

Jiraiya sensed Tobi trusted his judgment and made a promise to himself that he would not tell anyone of their conversation for Tobi's sake. He feared if akatuski learned of their meeting that they may try to eliminate him. For some reason Tobi seemed to play a crucial part in both Kakashi's life and the war with akatuski.

"Tobi, do you trust me enough to go for a little trip?" Jiraiya asked.

"A trip, is it far from here?" Tobi asked.

"It's not too far from our location. I promise I mean you no harm, and that I will ensure your safety the entire time. If we're deceived you may attack me freely." Normally Jiraiya wouldn't throw out a proposal such as this, but he wanted to help Tobi and solve the mystery to his past.

'Hmm it sounds like it could be near Deidara-sans old village.' He thought. "Ok, I'll go with you, but why? Won't there be more patrols?"

"The place is near the village that connects it to a neighboring one, so there'll only be heavy patrol at the entrance. Besides, I figure the best way to figure more about yourself is to start where your first memory is."

Jiraiya lead Tobi on an adventure near the hidden rock village.

'This is crazy. What I'm thinking is unethical and crazy, but I have a strong hunch about this. And this way I can collect further information on akatuski by helping Tobi learn more about him self. I don't' know what he think about me but my intentions are honourable. I have no intention of manipulating or deceiving him. I hope we don't run into any trouble. I don't want to run into any unnecessary fights.'

'I hope Jiraiya is true to his word but I have nothing to lose by taking this chance.' Tobi thought as he walked beside Jiraiya.

Hidan and Kakuzu hade made it halfway to the akatsuki hideout when Zetsu appeared from the ground.

"I thought I heard you two coming. I hope there were no difficulties." Zetsu said.

"No, not really, this one was already in a weakened state when we captured her." Kakuzu said.

"Well we would have been back sooner if a certain someone hadn't suggested we wait until nightfall, although it was a good plan for once." Hidan said.

"Well I'll take the demon cat from you. Remember you still have one more to catch." Zetsu said.

"Yeah, yeah, like we'd forget, unlike some certain members." Hidan said.

"Well you should hurry. I saw some leaf ninja headed around this area." Zetsu said.

"What, no way, what are those leaf brats doing sneaking around here?" Hidan said.

"It's not like our activity ahs gone unnoticed, Hidan." Kakuzu said.

"I know but damn! I don't' feel like doing extra work, but it'll give me a chance to perform some sacrifices." Hidan said.

Kakuzu handed the girl over to Zetsu who disappeared into the ground once more.

"Let's go, Hidan. With any luck we'll get this one before those leaf ninja come." Kakuzu said.

The two sped off towards their next target. Team ten, lead by Asuma, was set out on a further patrol to provide assistance to a neighboring village. Tsunade who was hesitant to send the tam out first, but when she heard of another attack and capture of a tailed beast she could stand aside no longer. Akatuski had to be taken down and now. Team ten had been wondering around the area aimlessly for twenty minutes until a low rumble through the ground alerted them.

"What was that?" Choji asked.

"Some kind of small explosion, should we approach it, Asuma?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yes, it's most likely akatsuki. Be on your guard everyone. We don't' know who it is or what their abilities are." Asuma said.

Everyone nodded. They were all well aware of the dangers they faced. Death was a definite possibility, worse case scenario was one of them wouldn't make it back. They arrived in time to see a young boy collapse from exhaustion.

"Nice, Kakuzu, now let's get going." Hidan said.

"Not so fast, you two aren't going anywhere." Asuma said.

Kakuzu and Hidan turned around.

"So you brats finally caught up, but you're a little late. He belongs to us now." Kakuzu said.

"You two are wanted for various crimes and are ordered to be eliminated. You're in every ninja's bingo book." Asuma said.

"Do you really think I care about something like that? You pathetic ninja may be able to take one of us down if you're lucky, but you can't take us both." Hidan sat down cross legged as he began to chant.

"What's he doing?" Shikamaru asked.

"I think he's praying." Asuma said.

"But what is he praying for?" Ino asked.

Kakuzu laughed. "Ignorant fools, Hidan prays to his god for a nice kill! He'll destroy all of you!"

"Praying to kill, that's disgusting." Asuma said.

They waited until Hidan was done before pulling out their weapons.

"This will be a wonderful kill!" Hidan said.

"Team ten squad get into formation now!" Asuma ordered.

They formed a circle around Hidan but he only laughed. "You idiots think this will stop me, you're wrong!"

All four shinobi attacked Hidan at once.

Jiraiya and Tobi walked in awkward silence, avoiding each others gaze. They only stared ahead.

"So, uh, this place, you've been there before I assume?" Tobi asked attempting to break the awkward silence between them.

"Yes I've been there a time or two during my travels." Jiraiya said.

"Are you some kind of sage as well?" Tobi asked finally looking at Jiraiya.

"Yes I'm a toad sage. I've learned many things through my travels, and I've even consulted with the toad elders." Jiraiya said looking at Tobi.

"These toad elders, did they grant you some kind of power?" Tobi wanted to learn more about his past too.

"No, I gained my power on my own. They only thing they granted me is this giant scroll I carry that allows me to summon toads." Jiraiya pointed the large scroll behind him attach to some thin rope.

"That thing, it's huge!" Tobi exclaimed. "I knew that scrolls varied in size but I've never see one that big before!"

Jiraiya chuckled. "Well I am a toad sanin sage after all. This thing can summon the chief toad."

"Chief toad, is he powerful?" Tobi asked.

"Oh yes, the strongest but very difficult to control. Even I wouldn't summon him myself unless necessary." Jiraiya said.

"Really, I see, he's that bad." Tobi said looking to the sky.

"There's only two other shinobi that have been able to work along side him." Jiraiya said.

"Really, and who's that?" Tobi asked.

Jiraiya closed his eyes and smiled. The two others are the fourth hokage himself and Naruto Uzumaki."


	20. Chapter 20: An everlasting friendship

"Amazing, and Naruto seems to be the ordinary shinobi

**A/N: I decided to make this chapter a little longer than the others, and because I've written so many chapters in the book I'm using I had to actually buy a new book today! I couldn't believe how much I had written when I flipped through all the pages. I had filled all 240 pages of the notebook! I've gotten another with the same amount so let's see how many pages I've written when I'm finish writing this story! I actually like the idea how Tobi is clueless about himself, and a bit of an air head, but I'm sure that's why we all love him! -**

"Amazing, and Naruto seems to be the ordinary shinobi!" Tobi said.

"Oh Naruto's not ordinary, he has extraordinary powers, especially with people." Jiraiya said.

"Wow, he must be popular in his village." Tobi said.

"Not really." Jiraiya said.

"What do you mean?" Tobi asked.

Jiraiya looked down. "Because he has the nine tailed demon fox sealed inside him, instead of being looked on as a hero Naruto was shunned. Some people feared that he was the demon himself, thus a law was made to never mention a word of it."

"That's terrible! No one should be treated that way!" Tobi said.

"I agree with you. It's no way to treat a human being." Jiraiya said.

Suddenly the fourth hokage's image flashed through Tobi's mind. "Hey, wait, Naruto and the fourth hokage, they both have blonde hair, right?" He asked.

Jiraiya smiled. "Correct."

"Is there some kind of relation or uncanny coincidence between them?" Tobi asked.

'Keep going, keep going.' Jiraiya thought.

"Then that means if there seems to be a strong resemblance between the two then they must be related! Was he Naruto's uncle?" Tobi asked.

"His father, actually, though Naruto doesn't seem to be aware of it." Jiraiya said.

"I see, that's sad, did you know the fourth?" Tobi asked.

"Yes I knew him quite well. I was his teacher." Jiraiya said proudly.

Tobi stopped in his tracks. "No way, that's unbelievable! You were really his teacher?!"

"Great teachers produce great students." Jiraiya said proudly.

"Wow and now you're training his son! So you must be pretty close to him. Are ever going to tell him?" Tobi asked as he began to walk.

"I will some day. I don't want to distract him from his goals right now." Jiraiya said.

"That's right; he wants to become hokage, no surprise there." Tobi said.

"Yep, just like his old man."

Jiraiya and Tobi laughed together for a few minutes. Tobi forgot all about akatuski and Naruto being Itachi and Kisame's target. IT took a minute for the two to catch their breaths. Jiraiya stared at Tobi. He suddenly found it hard to believe that someone as kind and as easy going as him could be with akatsuki.

'I can't believe I'm talking with him as if he were a friend. A man like him should not be involved with akatsuki. Then again, I'm sure there are memories that were erased or blocked even from him. I believe that if he still had them he would be leading a very different life. Maybe he would have lived peacefully in the leaf village and fighting against akatsuki. He seems very intrigued with our village, but I'm sure he and Kakashi would have gotten along well as friends. Perhaps at a time they were, but maybe I'm looking into this too much. I guess we'll see.' He thought as he smiled to himself.

"Alright, Tobi, we'll continue to walk for another hour. From there we'll rest for the night." Jiraiya said.

"That sounds good to me, Jiraiya-san!" Tobi stopped when he heard himself utter the words. He blushed slightly under his mask.

Jiraiya smiled. It's alright, Tobi, I'm glad that you're beginning to trust me a little more. I want you to know my every intention is honorable. I'm glad there isn't as much of a rift between us."

Tobi smiled under his mask. 'Yeah, I'm glad too.' He thought happily.

Jiraiya cleared his throat. "Well, shall we press on?"

He walked Tobi, trying to pass off Tobi's embarrassment. Tobi followed him sheepishly, but never spoke a word the rest of the way. He kept all thoughts to himself, though he felt warm and humble.

'It's strange; I haven't felt this way in a long time. Sure I was happy to follow Zetsu-san around, but I never felt this happy, so at peace with myself for the first time.' Tobi thought.

He was so deep in thought he barley noticed that Jiraiya had stopped in front of him. He hardly had any time to react as he stopped in his tracks, just centimeters from Jiraiya's back.

'Whew, that sure was a close one! I better learn to be more careful.' Tobi thought breathing out a sigh of relief.

"We'll stop and sleep here tonight and carry out in the late morning." Jiraiya said setting his bag down.

"Ok." Tobi said as he settles himself against a tree.

Jiraiya stared at him for a moment. "You don't' have a sleeping bag or anything?"

"No I don't usually bring such supplies with me. I don't always have time so I just sleep like this. It's fine with me." Tobi said.

Jiraiya smiled. He pulled out a brown sleeping bag and tossed it at Tobi.

"What's this for?" Tobi asked.

"What do you think it's for? You're sleeping in it." Jiraiya said.

"But I told you I'm fine as is." Tobi tried to explain but Jiraiya cut him off.

"I'll hear nothing of it. It's going to get quite cold tonight and I always bring a second bag just in case. I insist you use it and that's final." Jiraiya said.

Tobi let out a sigh. "Yes, sir, I'll use it." He said unrolling his sleeping bag.

Jiraiya laughed at himself. 'Well despite being in akatuski he's pretty obedient.' Jiraiya thought unrolling his sleeping bag.

Tobi slipped himself inside the bag. He took the chance to take out the photo. He stared at all four shinobi.

'So, Minato Namikaze, Obito Uchiha, Kakashi Hatake, and Rin, do I have a relation to them somehow? I think I do, in some way.' He thought.

"That's a nice picture, where'd you get it?" JIraiya asked.

Tobi turned around in shock. "Uh I found it." He lied.

"I see that's a very old picture." Jiraiya said.

"When was it taken?" Tobi asked.

"That picture was taken back when those three young ninja were mere genin. It was when the first team seven was created." Jiraiya said.

"I see, so when did Minato become hokage?" Tobi asked.

"Minato became hokage shortly after Obito's death. It was when the third hokage, Sarutobi was retiring. Naturally the village elders saw Minato as the perfect candidate." Jiraiya explained.

Tobi nodded. "I agree, he sounded like a very exceptional shinobi."

Jiraiya laughed. "Oh he was. He created a technique's only a couple of shinobi could use."

"And what techniques were those?" Tobi asked.

"One was teleportation technique, one to this day I have yet to see another shinobi surpass in speed. The other technique is called rasengan, a wind elemental jutsu that only two other people have used." Jiraiya said.

"Wow, creating your own elemental jutsu is hard. Such genius this man had." Tobi said.

Tobi's compliment made Jiraiya laugh aloud. "You make him sound like he was the greatest man on earth, Tobi." Jiraiya said.

"Well I've seen great shinobi but not many as good as he!" Tobi said.

"Hey, aren't you forgetting about yours truly?" Jiraiya said proudly.

Tobi laughed. "And of course there are great shinobi like you, Jiraiya-san."

"Well if you think I'm great you should see lady Tsunade." Jiraiya said.

"She's one of the legendary sanin like you, right? She must be really strong." Tobi said in awe.

"Oh she's powerful alright with her super human strength. Although with your type of personality I you may not want to." Jiraiya said in warning.

"Why?" Tobi asked.

"Well she has a terrible temper, you see, and you have the same personality as Naruto and even he gets on her nerves at the best of time." Jiraiya said.

"Oh so she's that dangerous? I better be careful around her." Tobi said worried.

"And you should be for good reason! There was this one time she caught me watching her and she nearly killed me. Through her anger she ruptured four of my organs and broke several of my ribs. On top of that, she told me if she ever caught me doing that again she'd break my head in." Jiraiya said looking towards the sky.

"Tobi stared at him wide eyed with his jaw dropped. His hands twitched in fear. "Wow, she sounds like a really scary woman but she can't always be that bad, cans he?" Tobi tried to sound confident but he was really sweating under his mask.

"Well not, not usually. She's normally quite easy going unless you make her mad or catch her on a bad day." Jiraiya said looking at Tobi with narrow eyes.

"Oh well that's good to know!" Tobi said with his voice slightly shaking. "It's starting to get late, shouldn't we rest now?"

"Yeah you're right, Tobi. We should hit the sack now so we'll both be well rested tomorrow." Jiraiya said.

Both snuggled themselves tightly into their sleeping bags as they quickly drifted off into a peaceful slumber. As great as their night was going, team ten wasn't having much luck.

Hidan hit Ino hard into the ground. All three slowly stood up. Exhausted form battle and out of ideas, time was running out fast.

"He's too strong! We have to think of something no, Asuma!" Shikamaru said.

"I know, Shikamaru!" Asuma said in frustration. 'Great, any effort made upon him is useless.'

"Done already? I thought you leaf brats had more to you, I guess not!" Hidan said lunging towards Asuma.

"Look out, Asuma!" Ino shouted.

Asuma put his chakra blades up in defense but he wasn't fast enough. Hidan swung his scythe towards Asuma's head. Asuma stood awaiting the cold welcome of death but Hidan stopped mere inches from Asuma's face.

"What's going on, I can't move!" Hidan growled in frustration.

"That's right, you can't move because you're trapped under my shadow possession jutsu." Shikamaru said.

"Ah, damn you, you little punk! I'll get you for this once I break free!" Hidan said.

"Are you alright, Asuma?" Shikamaru asked.

Asuma smiled as he wiped the sweat off his brow. "Yeah, thanks Shikamaru, I owe you one. He came upon me so fast I barely had time to react."

"You should be grateful luck was on your side. I'm going to kill you once I get that brat over there." Hidan motioned with eyes towards Shikamaru.

Shikamaru smiled. "How are you supposed to finish me off when you can't move?"

"Oh I'll be able to get out of this in no time. Don't forget you still have to face Kakuzu." Hidan said.

"So does this mean that I can quit standing around?" Kakuzu asked.

"Well yeah, what do you want, an invitation?" Hidan shouted.

"Well with you there has to be. You always get angry when I jump in to help because you insist fighting on your own." Kakuzu said.

"Only because when you get angry you try to kill everyone around you, even your allies! Or did you forget that? I just wish your old partner was around to deal with you instead of me. Oh, that's right; you killed in a fury of rage!" Hidan said sarcastically.

"Those two sure fight a lot. They don't seem to like each other much." Choji said.

'That's it, it's their fighting! That's our advantage! They can't stand each other and now's our chance.' Shikamaru thought. "Choji, Ino, attack Hidan now while you can!"

Choji and Ino nodded as they charged towards Hidan.

"Don't get cocky brats! I'm not that easy to defeat!" Hidan said.

"As much as I may dislike my partner, I can't have you take him off my hands just yet." Kakauzu said charging towards them.

"I don't think so, Kakuzu!" Asuma said jumping over Hidan to attack Kakuzu.

"Where do you think you're going, scum bag?" Hidan shouted.

"I'll deal with you later." Asuma said striking at Kakuzu who dodged the attack.

"I'd be more worried about your students if I were you." Kakuzu said.

"There's no need to because they can take care of themselves. It's me you should worry about." Asuma said.

"Well let's see you prove it." Kakuzu said.


	21. Chapter 21: The fatal blow that ends all

He attacked Asuma with a kunai

**A/N: Sorry for the delay of my latest chapter. I was a little bored writing this and I wasn't sure what to put next for awhile so I left it aside until new ideas came to mind. I'm going to try and add a new chapter before June 3****rd****, which is when I go on my trip to Newfoundland for a week! Yay! So if you don't see a new chapter up for a couple of weeks, this is why. Anyway, I'm really glad more and more people are adding my story for updates and favouring it. It makes me happy to know that other readers are enjoying it and looking for more. I'm just glad that all of you are having as much fun reading as I'm writing. **

He attacked Asuma with a kunai. Asuma dodged the attack and recoiled with a fire ball jutsu which Kakuzu blocked with water. Asuma looked behind Kakuzu and saw that they were near a large river.

'Great, we're in his element.' Asuma thought.

"Ninja art, twin water dragon jutsu!"

Kakuzu blasted Asuma down to the ground hard with his jutsu. Ino, Choji and Shikamaru weren't having much luck either. They were landing blows upon Hidan but none seemed to faze him. After several blows Hidan managed to break free of Shikamaru's shadow possession and backed away several feet. He wiped away the small trickle of blood slowly sliding down towards his chin.

"Pathetic, your little attacks aren't very powerful, are they? Then again, you little punks have never faced a truly skilled shinobi, have you?" Hidan let out a small laugh. "My god will be pleased to have taken several lives. Alright, it's time to get serious now!"

"He's just getting serious now? I though he was serious before!" Ino said.

"You better stand back, Ino, Choji, we don't' know what kind of jutsu he's going to use but I'm sure it's a powerful one." Shikamaru said.

Ino and Choji jumped back to join their comrade, curious as to what Hidan's choice of jutsu will be.

"Ha-ha, you little brats are finished! No one's ever been able to stop my jutsu, never.' Hidan said.

"Maybe so, but I doubt you've met a shinobi who's as quick analyst as I am." Shikamaru said.

"Ha, even if you somehow manage to figure out how my jutsu works, you still can't stop it, and I'll show you why!" Hidan formed several hand signs. "I used this jutsu to capture a little demon cat girl not too long ago."

'What, they've managed to capture two tailed beasts already? Just what are they up to?' Shikamaru thought.

"Ninja art, jashin seal jutsu!" Hidan said as red lines appeared on the ground to form a triangle inside a circle under Hidan. He crouched on all fours as hid body slowly began to transform. Black and white stripes began to cover his body, giving the appearance of a human skeleton.

"Is he some kind of reaper?" Choji asked.

"I don't know but I wish I could tell you Choji." Shikamaru said.

Asuma looked behind him, shocked at Hidan's new appearance.

'What is he? He can't be human, can he?' He thought to himself.

"You should pay more attention to your opponents!" Kakuzu said striking down upon Asuma.

Asuma managed to dodge his attack in the air and spun towards the ground, landing next to his students.

"What's going on, Shikamaru?" He asked.

"I don't know, he formed some hand signs and transformed after that strange symbol appeared." Shikamaru said.

"Do you have any idea what it is, sensei?" Choji asked.

"No I have no idea. I've never seen that symbol before nor have I heard of it." Asuma said.

"Could it be a part of this jashin god he mention earlier?" Ino asked.

"Maybe, but that's a good question, Ino. Take extreme caution everyone." Asuma warned his team.

Hidan laughed. "It doesn't matter how many precautions you take, you're all still going to die! I've never allowed an opponent to be kept alive unless necessary." Hidan said.

"Well maybe this time the opposite will happen to you." Asuma said focusing more chakra into his blades.

"Ha, bring it on!" Hidan said readying his scythe.

First Asuma threw several kunai's at Kakuzu with exploding tags attached and ran to Hidan with Ino. Kakuzu dodged the weapons but was caught off guard by the explosion, impairing visibility around him. Shikamaru caught on to the plan and ran off to the far left and disappeared within the smoke.

"Running away for help, how pathetic of you runt. I knew he was a coward." Hidan said

as he blocked the oncoming attack.

He looked behind him to see Ino throw several kunais and shurikens. He quickly grabbed hold of Asuma's arm and turned him around and jumped to the side. Asuma was caught off guard and barely to escape the sharp weapons. A kunai managed to graze his right arm as he jumped out of the way.

"I'm so sorry sensei!" Ino said when she noticed his wound.

"It's alright, Ino. I didn't expect him to pull a risky move like that." Asuma said.

"Do you want me to heal your arm?" Ino asked.

"No there's no time. We must end this battle quickly." Asuma said.

"Well that's what being a shinobi is all about. Deceiving your opponent and masking your moves. Taking on and Kakuzu is the last mistake you'll ever make!"

Hidan lunged towards Asuma. 'All I need is his blood and it's all over for him.' He thought with a wide sadistic grin.

Asuma jumped high into the air. Kakuzu followed him up and tried to knock him down towards Hidan but Asuma was quicker and kicked him hard, sending Kakuzu to the ground like a rocket. Hidan growled in frustration as he charged towards Ino. Asuma threw his kunai past Hidan to stop his attack. Ino quickly backed away as Asuma ran towards Hidan with his chakra blades. He struck down hard onto Hidan's scythe, putting a small crack on the top blade.

"Damn you, you chipped my scythe. You'll pay fro that!" Hidan said pushing Asuma away.

'His weapon is strong. It took my full strength to strike him down and I only chipped it.' He thought.

"You should stay focused; you'll live longer that way." Kakuzu said throwing a kunai towards Asuma which he managed to avoid the attack but was grazed again on his right side.

'What's up with these guys, they seem to be focused on Asuma. They're most likely trying to take him out so they can retreat. But Hidan seems focused on his blood, why?' Shikamaru watched as Hidan caught the kunai, his eyes widening in shock.

'He intentionally threw it in hopes to get Asuma's blood to pass it to Hidan!' "Asuma, be careful, he threw the kunai at you on purpose to pass it off to Hidan! I'm sure he did it to use your blood!" Shikamaru shouted.

"What?" Asuma said.

Hidan chuckled. "Smart kid, so you figured out that I need his blood but you don't know why. It's not like it matter because your sensei's fate is sealed now!" Hidan jumped back into his ritual circle. "Now watch and learn you little brats." Hidan plunged his scythe into his left shoulder.

Asuma cried in pain as he knelt down, clutching his left shoulder. His students cried as they ran towards him.

"Sensei, are you alright?" Ino asked.

"Yes I'll be fine, don't worry, the wound isn't serious." Asuma reassured them.

"How is this possible?" Shikamaru glanced at Hidan who looked like an animal hungry for more blood. "I'm going to try something. Ino, Choji, follow my lead."

"Why, what are you trying to do?" Ino asked.

"There's no time to explain just do as I say!" Shikamaru said.

Shikamaru threw a kunai at Hidan who blocked it.

'What are those brats trying to do?' Kakuzu thought as he watched them attack Hidan.

Choji rolled into a ball in attempt to crush Hidan but failed.

"Mind transfer jutsu!" Ino yelled attempting to breach Hidan's mind.

"Nice try but I know of your clan's pathetic jutsu that leaves you completely venerable." Hidan moved out of his circle and charged towards Ino but was stopped once again.

"Oh no, not again, great, I almost forgot about you too." Hidan growled.

'Why doesn't he attack Asuma now' Shikamaru thought as the moved his gaze to Hidan's ritual circle. 'I see he can't mirror damage from himself to others unless he's in that circle.' "Hey, Ino, Choji, don't let him go back into his circle. He can't get Asuma from a distance like he did before without being in it."

Ino, now with her mind back in her body threw kunai's at Hidan but Kakuzu used his water jutsu to block the attack and steer the water to Shikamaru who had no choice but to release Hidan from his jutsu. Asuma and his team charged towards Hidan but Kakuzu

used his twin water dragon jutsu to stop the ninja trio. Asuma jumped high into the air, ready to deliver a fatal blow but Hidan stabbed himself in the abdomen. Asuma's eyes widened as his mouth hung open in pain. He dropped to the ground. Kakuzu pushed the remaining three back hard onto the ground.

"Asuma, no!" Shikamaru said as he, Choji and Ino struggled to get up. Choji was the first to make it to their sensei. When Ino and Shikamaru recovered they joined Chojo to examine him.

"He's hurt badly, the wound itself looks fatal." Ino said as she tried to choke back her tears.

"No, that's impossible! Asuma you can't die! Your path can't end here!" Shikamaru cried.

It's useless, I can barely move." Asuma said.

Suddenly several ninja from the leaf village appeared.

"Quick, you've got to help! Take Asuma back to the village, hurry!" Shikamaru said.

The two ninja looked at him with skeptical faces.

'I don't think he'll make it even if we try." One of them thought.

Shikamaru's eyes began to well with tears. "What are you doing just standing there, help him!"

"Shikamaru, I don't think he has a good chance of making it back. His wounds look fatal." Ino said.

Shikamaru turned to look at her; a single tear began to roll down his cheek.

"I'm sorry but his chances of survival are slim to none." Ino said trying to choke back her own tears.

"I don't care! Take him back anyway!" Shikamaru yelled.

"Hey, kid, I understand how you feel, but we can't take him back without you guys. You know as well as I do you can't hold them off by yourselves. You'll need more reinforcements and besides, this battle is over." The two ninja slowly picked Asuma up.

"Right, ninja art, illusion of a thousand birds!" The ninja formed a hand sign as a cloud of crows flew towards Hidan and Kakuzu.

Hidan shielded himself with his scythe. "Ugh, what is this jutsu, a genjutsu?" He asked.

"No it doesn't appear to be. Perhaps it's a summoning jutsu or just a regular jutsu." Kakuzu said.

When the flock of birds cleared Hidan and Kakuzu stood alone on the battle field.

"Damn it, they got away, those cowards!" Hidan yelled. "Who cares, Hidan? We got another tailed beast and you got that jonin." Kakuzu said.

Hidan swung his scythe onto his shoulder. "Yeah I guess so, let's go."

They quickly ran off towards their closest hide out.

It took the leaf ninja an hour to reach the village. Once they reached the gate the two men carrying Asuma insisted Shikamaru, Ino and Choji head back home to rest.

"We'll inform you of any progress made." The two men ran to the hospital for Tsunade's help.

"You guys go ahead without me. I've got to visit someone." Shikamaru said running off.

"Where do you think he's going?" Choji asked.

"I'm not sure, maybe to Kurenai's house." Ino said. "Come on, let's go home, Choji."

The two walked in silence, praying for their sensei's recovery. Kurenai was in the middle of making tea when she heard a frantic knock on the door.

'Who could that be?' She thought to herself as she walked to the door. She slowly opened it to find Shikamaru at her door step.

"Shikamaru, what are you doing here? Is something wrong?" She asked.

"It's, it's Asuma. There's been…an incident."


	22. Chapter 22: A ray of hope shines through

He tried to speak through the tears that ran down his face

He tried to speak through the tears that ran down his face.

"Wait, slow down, just what happened to Asuma?" Kurenai asked.

"He's been injured badly. We fought against akatuski and one of them used a jutsu to nearly kill him." Shikamaru said.

Kurenai gasped. "What, where is he? Is he at the hospital?"

"Yes. I just thought you should know." Shikamaru said.

Kurenai stepped out and quickly shut the door behind her, running past Shikamaru towards the hospital with her heart racing. Shikamaru stood for a few moments before heading off home. When he arrived he stepped inside to find his father sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of green tea.

"Your mission didn't go as planned, eh?" His father asked sipping his tea.

Shikamaru looked down. "No not the way I wanted it to."

"Have a seat, Shikamaru." His father said.

Shikamaru looked up at the back of his fathers head. He hadn't turned around once and yet he knew the moment that his son stepped through the door that something was wrong. He sat down to the left of his father. Shikaku turned his gaze to his son.

"Shikamaru, no matter what happens; it's going to be ok." He said.

"What do you mean by that? Did you hear what happened already?" Shikamaru asked.

"No but you have two choices; you can spend the rest of the day moping around or you can tell me what happened today." Shikaku said.

His father gaze was stern, as if he was trying to pier into his son's heart. Shikamaru lowered his gaze once more.

"Today, on the mission, we were supposed to patrol the outside of the village and provide any assistance to a neighbouring village but instead we ran into akatsuki. At first it didn't look good but we eventually managed to gain the upper hand, or so I thought. But…but." Tears slowly began rolling down his cheeks. "It seemed like Asuma had both of them, he was doing fine until…until Hidan used a kind of voodoo jutsu to pierce through him twice. And because we couldn't match their level out attempts to prevent that incident were useless and now there's a ninety percent chance he'll die. It's all my fault." Shikamaru cried harder.

"Listen to me, Shikamaru, none of this is your fault, nor is it Choji's, Ino or even Tsunade's. No one could foresee them being behind this. What's done is done and Asuma fought bravely and honourably. He has lived and fought like a true shinobi and you'll all become more skilled in time. There will be others that will enter your life and you'll make new bonds and hold onto old ones. That's why regardless of the outcome from this battle everything will work out." Shikaku said.

"How do you know that? What about team ten, his family and Kurenai; it won't be the same for anyone. We may lose another jonin." Shikamaru said.

"You're right, it won't be the same. It will be hard, but that isn't as important. What could have been doesn't matter."

Shikaku's words forced Shikamaru to lift his gaze. He stared at his father bewildered. The words he heard his father speak sounded cold with little sympathy, but only the undeniable truth.

"What do you mean? I don't understand." Shikamaru said.

"Of course you don't, I didn't expect you to. That's why I'm going to tell you now, to help you understand. My words sound cold to you now but in time they will help guide you along in life. Listen; what happens in battle or could have doesn't matter because even if a shinobi dies during a mission there is always a truth that is repeated time and time again to those who will listen. That truth is that it's irrelevant how many friends or enemies one makes. It's how they live, and how they die, even if in battle it tells a story of the kind of person they were. It doesn't matter how many mission you complete in your life. We're all here for a purpose and that varies from shinobi to shinobi. From the path we're lead down, how we live through the choices we make that form our destiny. That is a shinobi's true calling." Shikaku said.

"So you're saying is it's not what we chose but how we chose in life is our destiny? That's what's important?" Shikamaru asked.

"Right, it's our driving force, our will to live. The way you live is up to you, Shikamaru. Do you understand now?" Shikaku asked finishing his tea.

"Yeah I think I do a little more now." Shikamaru said.

"Good as long as you understand the point I'm trying to make that's all that matters. Now go upstairs and rest, you need it." His father said getting up. He gently put his hand Shikamaru's head as he passed by to put his cup in the sink.

Although Shikamaru felt depressed, the overwhelming pain he felt in his heart lifted. His father's words of comfort and understanding had dispersed the darkness that covered the light. He slowly sat up and dragged his lead feet up the stairs.

He awoke to the sound of a sudden knock on the door. He gazed at his alarm clock. It was already five o'clock. He was surprised at himself for sleeping so long. To him it had felt like minutes. He sat up.

'Oh man I can't believe I actually slept for three ours. I know I'd rather have naps than go on missions but I didn't feel that tired.' He thought.

"Shikamaru, come down here." He heard his father call.

He jumped out of bed and ran downstairs. He was surprised to find Ino and Choji at the front step.

"Your friends are here with some news." Shikaku said.

"A medical ninja stopped by my house and told me that Asuma was almost out of surgery. They think he's going to make it!" Ino said.

Shikamaru's jaw dropped as a wave of relief washed over him.

"Come on we better hurry to the hospital!" Choji said.

"Uh, right but what about mom? She'll scold me if I'm not home on time." Shikamaru said.

"Don't worry about it, Shikamaru." Your mother went to buy some groceries. I'll explain to her you wont be home for dinner, she'll understand, now go." Shikaku instructed.

Shikamaru quickly put on his shoes and the three sped off towards the hospital with hopeful hearts. They burst through the front doors when they arrived and ran past the front desk to the emergency ward. They stopped in their tracks when they spotted Kurenai sitting on a bench, her face buried in her hands.

"Kurenai-sensei." Ino looked on with said eyes.

Kurenai quickly looked up at the three. Dried tears stained her worried face, her composure slouched and feeble, and her heart shaken with grief.

"Shikamaru, Ino, Choji, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you all be at home resting?" She asked.

"We were when a medical ninja came and informed us about Asuma progress." Ino said.

"Have you been here long, sensei?" Choji asked.

Kurenai quickly wiped away the tears from her eyes and face.

"Well I've been here for four hours. I ran here as soon as Shikamaru told me what happened." She tried her best to control her shaky voice.

"I'm sorry, sensei, we did our best; we really did." Choji apologized.

"There's no need to, Choji. This isn't your fault and I know all three of you did everything you could to protect Asuma and I'm grateful. Thank you. Why don't' all of you have a seat and wait with me? It's not good to stand in one place for too long." Kurenai said.

The trio sat next to Kurenai and silently waited to hear the news of Asuma's fate.

They waited for two hours before the light above the emergency doors went off. All looked up at the sign with anticipation, for it meant a medical ninja would step out of the ward soon with news that will change their lives forever. Several minutes later Tsunade emerged through the double and faced the four waiting on the bench. They looked at her with tearful eyes, afraid to say anything, fearing the worst of their sensei and friend. Finally Kurenai gathered all of her courage to speak up.

"So how did it go? How is he, is he…going to be ok?" She asked desperately.

"I don't know how to tell you this. I haven't had to face something this critical in a long time but I'll be honest, I did all that I could to help Asuma." Tsunade said.

"Are you trying to tell us Asuma's dead?" Shikamaru said trying his best to keep his composure.

"Let me finish before you interrupt me again, Shikamaru. I did do my best to heal him, yes, but I didn't say that he's dead yet." Tsunade said.

"What do you mean?" Ino asked.

"Well I've got to say Asuma's one lucky guy. I've successfully managed to close all his wounds, including the one in his abdomen, that one was the most difficult to close up. The wound was so deep that it should have been fatal. It's a miracle Asuma's still alive but he is in a weakened state. He'll need plenty of rest but don't get your hopes too high. He's not out of the woods yet. He has a high chance of making a strong recovery but there's still a chance that he could die from his wounds. I don't want to be pessimistic

but we'll have to wait to see if he'll make it the night before we can really be optimistic but he has a strong will." Tsunade said.

Kurenai let out a sigh of relief as her shoulders dropped.

"Is there any chance that we can see him?" Choji asked.

Tsunade frowned slightly at the question. "Yes but only one of you may see him right now, but only for five minutes. If he's stronger tomorrow then I'll consider upping the number." Tsunade said.

"I think you should go Kurenai-sensei." Choji said.

"Really, none of you want to go first?" Kurenai asked surprised.

"Just go, Kurenai, you're the only one who didn't have the chance to see Asuma, right? Besides, you're the one he probably wants to see the most anyway." Shikamaru said looking down.

Kurenai blushed slightly. "Thank you, all of you. I'll send Asuma your regards." Kurenai stood up in front of Tsunade. "I'm ready to see him." She said.

"Alright, follow me, and please remember to keep your voice down." Tsunade said as she led Kurenai through the double doors.

Kurenai's mind raced as she and Tsunade walked in silence down the dim corridor. What should she expect? Would she be shocked by his appearance, overwhelmed with grief or both? What should she say? For all she knew this could be the last time she'll ever see Asuma alive.

Tears began to well in her eyes but she shook them away. 'No I can't think like that. I have to try to be optimistic, especially for him.' She thought to herself.

"His room is down this hall." Tsunade motioned to the left corner corridor. She continued to follow Tsunade until she stopped in front of room 316. "Well he's in this room. I've given him a single one for more privacy. Brace yourself, Kurenai, he's not a mangled mess but he's beaten up badly. He won't have the strength to talk too much but I'll be waiting here if you need me." Tsunade said.

"Alright, thank you, lady Tsunade." Kurenai said.

Tsunade nodded as he slowly opened the door. Kurenai took a deep breath as she stepped inside. She slowly walked around the side curtain. She gasped slightly when she saw Asuma in the hospital bed, heart monitors placed all over his chest. Half of his chest and head were wrapped in bandages with a medical seal placed on his forehead and three on the monitors on each side.

"Oh, Asuma, look at you, you're a mess." She muttered to herself.

Asuma slowly opened his eyes to find Kurenai at the foot of his bed. He slowly managed a warm smile at her which made her smile back.

"There's the smile I was looking for." He said weakly.

"You shouldn't try to talk too much, you need your rest." Kurenai said wiping away a surfacing tear.

"I know but don't be so sad, Kurenai, I'll be fine, trust me." Asuma said.

Kurenai made her way to Asuma's right and sat down on the chair placed next to his bed.

"I guess it would be silly to ask you how you're feeling." She asked sheepishly.

"No, don't be silly, Kurenai. I fell pretty worn out but I've got high hopes. After all I can't leave you just yet."

Asuma slowly moved his hand to the edge of the bed. Kurenai placed her hand in his. A single tear began to roll down her cheek. Asuma used his free hand to wipe the tear away.

"I don't want to lose you, Asuma. It would be too painful." Kurenai said.

"I know but I won't let that happen. I'll recover soon, you'll see. By the way, how are the others doing? I'm really worried about them, especially Shikamaru." Asuma said.

"They're all doing just fine and they want you to get better soon. They're waiting outside of the emergency ward. Tsunade gave us all the good news just before I came to see you." Kurenai said.

"And are they all well rested?" Asuma asked.

"Yes they are, don't worry. They'll all be fine. You just concentrate on getting better soon." Kurenai glanced at the clock on the wall behind her. "Times almost up. I should get going soon." She said.

"Wait, before you go, what happened to Hidan and Kakuzu?"

Asuma's question took her by surprise. "From what I heard from Shikamaru they got away, but I'm sure Tsunade will send someone to finish them off."

"I see." He gazed at Kurenai's abdomen. "You know you really should get Tsunade to monitor that for you." He said.

Kurenai blushed slightly. "I know and I will. I should let you rest now." She said getting up.

"Take good care of yourself while I'm in here, I mean it. Don't loses sleep over this, ok?" Asuma said.

"I won't, I promise." Kurenai kissed him on the cheek.

She slowly walked towards the door.

"Kurenai," Asuma said.

Kurenai turned her head. Asuma smiled weakly.

"I love you." He said closing his eyes.

Kurenai smiled as she continued towards the door. Asuma's words echoed in her head as he allowed another tear to fall. Tsunade leaned against the wall outside the room.

'I hope you make it through this, Asuma, for all our sake.' She thought.

Kurenai slid the door opened and stepped out. "He's resting now and seems to be at ease." Kurenai shut the door behind her.

"That's good. Because of what happened today I'm giving you and team ten a couple of days off to rest with pay of course." Tsunade said.

"Are you sure you want to do this, lady Tsunade?" Kurenai asked.

"Yes I'm sure. You all need the time off to clear your heads." Tsunade said. 'Besides, I'm sure akatsuki will return to try and finish the job.'

They two women met the others still waiting outside the ward. Tsunade dismissed them and that she would contact them for their next mission.


	23. Chapter 23: The real Tobi unmasked

The sun was beginning to set as Tobi and Jiraiya neared their destination

The sun was beginning to set as Tobi and Jiraiya neared their destination.

"We're almost there, Tobi. After we cross this gap we'll arrive at our destination in fifteen minutes." Jiraiya said.

"Ok!" Tobi said happily as they jumped over the gap. Tobi stared back at it curiously.

"Hey, Jiraiya-san, it looks like a bridge used to be here."

"Good eye, Tobi, you're absolutely right, a bridge did used to be here but it was destroyed during a mission long ago." Jiraiya said.

"Was it the mission the fourth and his students went on?" Tobi asked.

"Yes." Jiraiya replied.

"I see."

Suddenly an image of wind blew across a large bridge. On all four pillars was a sign that read the name of the bridge. Tobi placed a hand on his head.

Jiraiya looked back at him. "Are you alright, Tobi?"

"Yes I just have a small head ache that's all." He said. 'What's with me? It would seem that I'm remembering more now of that mission from my dreams.'

'It seems like the gap where the bridge used to stand triggered another memory. That's good.' Jiraiya thought. He smiled. "Are you going to be ale to carry on or do you need to rest until your head ache subsides?" Jiraiya asked.

"No I'm fine to continue walking. The pain isn't that bad." Tobi said.

Jiraiya nodded and carried on.

'It seems the closer we come to the cave the more he'll remember. I hope this works. At least we may be able to find old traces of his past.' Jiraiya thought.

Soon the two approached the tall grass field. Tobi anxiously swatted at the bugs with his arms flailing as they tried to land on him.

Jiraiya chuckled. "What's wrong, Tobi? You're not afraid of a few tiny bugs are you?"

"Of course not, I just don't like them, that's all. They bite, they're pests and they don't leave you alone- agh!" Tobi slipped on some mud as he disappeared into the grass.

Jiraiya burst out laughing. "It seems your little dance into the mud helped ward those all bugs away. I remember Obito Uchiha didn't like bugs, either."

Tobi poked his head through the grass slightly covered in mud. "Really, well at least I'm not the only one!" He said proudly.

He stood up and brushed the mud off and continued to follow Jiraiya. Suddenly another memory rolled through his mind.

"I'll have to hurry or I'll be late again!"

Suddenly the boy tripped over his feet. He quickly picked himself up and continued forward. He arrived a few minutes later and collapsed on his knees out of breath.

"Did I make it in time?" He asked.

"No Obito because you arrived late again!" Kakashi scolded.

Tobi shook the memory away. 'Why is this all happening now? Is it al because of the place Jiraiya-san is taking me to? Does this place hold memories so strong it's triggering others?' He thought. "Are we almost there, Jiraiya-san?"

"Yes, Tobi, we'll be there in a few minutes. Are you starting to remember who you really are now?"

"Well I'm having a lot of flashbacks--what do you mean remembering who I really am?" Tobi asked.

Jiraiya stopped and turned to Tobi. "Tobi, I believe you aren't who you think you are. I think deep down, you're really someone else, someone that's being masked by lies and deceit. You said it yourself that you feel that way."

Tobi stared at Jiraiya, surprised by his stern words.

"Tobi, you and I know that there is a past coinciding with the present. You haven't been able to find the answers you need nor someone to help you, and I'm positive akatsuki knows the truth about you but has kept it a secret." Jiraiaya said.

Tobi stepped back. "What do you mean, how could they know about my past. Zetsu-san told me they knew nothing about me prior to akatuski."

"They have been lying to you, Tobi, deceiving you. I told you this before but when I said I wanted to help you I meant it. When I said I was gathering information, it was to help protect Naruto, especially since they're close to their goal. You knowing your true self would probably change your allegiance to them." Jiraiya said.

"So you knew I was from akatsuki this whole time, didn't you?" Tobi asked.

Jiraiya nodded. "I pretended not to know because I didn't want you to worry."

"My past life, perhaps I would have fought against akatsuki instead of fighting with them." Tobi said.

"Perhaps you would have." Jiraiya said. 'That is if you had survived that mission. I'm sure I know who you are but that wont' matter unless you realize it yourself.' "Tobi, the reason I'm telling you all of this is because I'm leading you to a cave, and it will probably trigger years of lost memories. That's the true purpose of this travel."

"I know these images will continue to occur no matter what, and so you plan to accelerate them?" Tobi asked.

"Exactly I wanted to wait until we arrived at the cave but I thought it would make more sense to tell you now." Jiraiya said.

Tobi nodded. "You're right, the answer is a little more clearly now. Please, take me to the cave. I want to know why Obito Uchiha is so important, even if he perhaps is me."

"Alright, but I'm warning you, Tobi, these memories maybe overwhelm you so do your best to brace yourself." Jiraiya warned.

Tobi nodded and followed Jiraiya to the cave. One life ended there, but another began.

They continued to walk until they stopped outside of the entrance.

"Well this is it, Tobi. This is the cave you traveled so far to see." Jiraiya said.

Tobi stared at the large hollow rock noting every inch of it in his mind.

'So this is where it all started. This is where my memories start.' He thought.

"Well what do you think, Tobi? Are you ready to on inside?" Jiraiya asked.

"Yes I'm ready, let's go." Tobi said.

He swallowed boldly as he stepped into the darkness. Jiraiya lit a small flair and held it high. The cave felt cold and damp. Their slow footsteps echoed through the long tunnel. Tobi could hear his heart pounding. Every beat seemed to mirror their footsteps. Tobi could make out a large outline at the end of the tunnel. As they approached it he could see that it was a doorway leading to the middle of the cave. He walked through and stared in awe. The room was large but it was cramped with a pile of boulders that lay scattered amongst the ground. He gazed at the top of the cave where the ceiling used to be. A small ledge bordered around the cave near the top which lead to a small doorway.

Another memory ran through his mind again. He remembered seeing a ninja on the ledge with the other on the ground using an invisible jutsu. Tobi closed his eye. He saw the young boy with the uchiha eyes plunge his kunai into their invisible attacker. The boy, astonished at his newly awakened abilities, stared down at his hands. He could see his chakra flowing through him like blood through veins.

"I think I'm remembering more now. The same scenario that played in my dreams now runs through my mind." Tobi said.

"That's good. Don't stop the memories, Tobi; let them flow freely throughout your mind." Jiraiya said.

Tobi nodded and took a deep breath. He felt himself relax as he exhaled. He felt butter flies in his stomach as years of memories broke through the invisible barrier of his mind leaving him in a trance. He gasped as memories from his early childhood played through his mind.

He watched himself playing with his parents. His parents, the ones he couldn't remember stood before his younger self crystal clear. He remembered now; his father was a tall proud man with spiky black hair just like him. He walked up to him and patted him on the head. He usually wore black pants with a black shirt with the clans crest like all Uchiha with pride on his back. He was considered one of the most elite ninja of the clan. But his mother, he resembled her much more. He inherited most of her features. Both had wide eyes, long slender faces with a soft expression. She stood beside her husband in her summer blouse with the sun radiating her beautiful figure. He remembered she rarely wore makeup. She never needed to. Her natural beauty alone was enough to turn heads. She never had her hair up. She preferred to let it sit lightly at her shoulders.

"Mother, father." He muttered to himself as a single tear rolled down his cheek. He suddenly felt stupid for not being able to remember them. He was very close with them and always felt a strong bond with them regardless.

The memory flashed forward to graduation from the academy as a genin and the pairing with Kakahi and Rin. He and Kakashi always turned their backs to each other. An outsider looking in would think they hated each other, but in their rivalry lay a strong friendship, a bond that made them as close as brothers. Brothers, something they never had. Both were only children, except he had both of his parents while Kakashi, at the time, had only his mother. He remembered their sensei, konoha's yellow flash.

Time moved forward once more as Minato told him of the story of Kakashi's past, then his bold sacrifice to save Kakashi's life and the transfer of his sharingan eye. The memory faded away and his older image took its place. Just like in the dream before, the figure slowly began to remove the mask. Normally in the dream it would end here but it did not this time. His self image pulled the mask away allowing Tobi to finally gaze upon his own face. His face resembles an older Obito. He was surprised his own reflection. His figure stood with the sharingan in his right eye and an eye patch over the left. Of course he could have looked at himself without the mask many times but he never did. He never had an urge to and Zetsu advised him to keep the mask on for protection because his face had been badly damaged in the past and he was, after all, a big accident prone. Besides, he had always preferred to keep the mask on himself, but he never would have thought his face would be the identity of the same person. It was only now that he realized that they were lying the entire time. It wasn't to protect him; it was to shield him from himself in case he came upon a photograph of his young ninja days he may realize that he was looking upon himself. His younger self appeared before him wearing the leaf headband with the grave stone at the side bearing his name once more. The name flashed in gold before he fell to his knees.

Jiraiya rant o his side. "Are you alright, Tobi?"

Tobi slowly opened his eyes. "Yes I'll be alright. It was just a little overwhelming that's all." He smiled a little.

Jiraiya helped him stand up.

"Sudden events like these are. Do you remember who you really are now?" Jiraiya asked.

"Yes. I am Obito Uchiha of the Uchiha clan, not Tobi. I realize now that my real name is my past but it is also my present and future. I remember now that my personality is the same as it was in my past life. I am still the same person but I have been living with a fake name. Akatsuki was the start of all this mess." Obito said.

"Yes but it was akatsuki that gave you new life." Jiraiya said.

Obito looked down. "I know and for that I'm grateful but I feel ashamed because they used for my abilities to help an evil organization. For that my parent's would be ashamed."

"Perhaps but it's not entirely your fault." Jiraiya said.

"No it's not. I've been given a second chance and that's why I'm going to make amends for what I've done. I'm going to help the hidden leaf village destroy akatsuki." Obito said.

"And for that your parents would be proud." Jiraiya said.

"I remember Kakashi, Rin, and sensei and everyone else clearly now. Kakashi and I, we were so close despite our rivalry, and perhaps we still are. I think destiny has been leading Kakashi and me to eventually meet without knowing it. Well from here on I'm going to stop living in the shadows of Tobi. I'm going to start anew as Obito Uchiha, my true self. I'm not going to live with any more lies." He said.

Jiraiya smiled. "I'm glad to hear that, Obito. So what will you do now? You can't simply go to the leaf village and convince them you're really Obito Uchiha."

"I know, but I don't think I will. If I do, it will only draw more attention to myself and Naruto and endanger the one's I care about. I don't want to do that to the village." Obito said.

Jiraiya nodded. "That's true; you should take extra precaution now."

"I know, and that means I'm in just as a tight spot as Naruto, which also means…" Obito voice trailed off.

"What is it, Obito?" Jiraiya asked.

"I just realized my ties with my clan means both of my parents were murdered by Itachi which makes him my enemy. He may come after me should they learn the truth." Obito said.

"I'll help you to ensure they don't. But what about Kakashi, will you tell him the truth?" Jiraiya asked.

"No I don't' think the time is right. It may distract him from his main objective. But I want to help ease him of the pain he's carried for so long. The memorial, does he visit it often?" Obito asked.

Jiraiya nodded. "Yes, he visits it every day in the morning until the early afternoon. It drives his students crazy because it causes him to be late and he always has an excuse, kind of how you are."

Obito smiled. "How ironic that he gained the attributes he used to hate to see, especially in me. Who would have thought?"

He chuckled at the thought of Kakashi scolding him many times for his lateness of arrival for missions.

"That's right, Kakashi's father died when he was young. He took his life because he was looked down upon because he chose to save his comrades and failed the mission, causing the loss of many lives. I had a flash back of sensei telling me that."

"Obito, do you realize this cave holds more significance than just triggering your old memories?" Jiraiya asked.

Obito gazed at the boulders on the ground. He noticed a hole within the large pile, a hole big enough for a body to fit in.

"You mean --Of course, I have been to this cave before, I knew it!" He said.

"Yes and this is where your new life began. This is the very cave where you died on your mission." Jiraiya said.

"That's right, I died here, how could I have forgotten? What I saw in my dreams was me trapped under the rocks. The rock Zetsu-san pulled me out of." Obito said.

"He probably saved you on orders or a whim alone, or else he would have eaten you. Remember, he's a carnivore and your body would have been the perfect feast." Jiraiya said.

"How could I have been so blind to the truth; it should have occurred to me sooner." Obito said.

"In fact, you should have remembered a long time ago. They must have used a genjutsu to cloud your memories." Jiraiya said.

"Yeah they had to because when the flood of memories ran through my mind I felt like I was in a trance." Obito said.

"Well that was because of me. The moment it all came back was because I released the genjutsu." Jiraiya said.


	24. Chapter 24: A dark looming cloud

**A/N: Sorry for the delay everyone! I meant to finish writing this chapter and have it typed up shortly before.** **I was going to post it earlier today but I needed a break. I was getting restless of typing for so long. Sometimes takes me an hour if I'm being fast without so many errors, but it does take several hours usually at a good pace with music of course. So who do you think is going to work alongside Itachi and Kisame as a trio? I already have an idea of whom, but I'm curious if you'll post what you think lol. It may be a surprise to some, and to some, maybe not. Enjoy!**

Obito stared at him. "That was because of you?"

"Yes. I noticed you were under genjutsu for some time but I didn't want tot release it to quickly and without your trust of course." Jiraiya said.

"I don't blame you, but thank you Jiraiya-san. Because of you I feel like a new man, somewhat purified. So what is our plan now?" Obito asked.

"Well my plan was to spy on akatuski once we handled this little charade." Jiraiya said.

"Then we'll spy on akatuski together. After all you'll need some back up should something happen." Obito said.

"Now, Obito, this I must protest on--" He was cut off by Obito.

"No, master Jiraiya, I insist. You'll need my help and this is my way of returning your kindness. Besides, they'll be on guard now more than ever." Obito said

"But the risk of you being caught--" Jiraiya protested.

"I don't care about that right now! The village needs to prepare for the attack and you can't go back on a hunch!" Obito said.

Jiraiya sighed. Try as he might to protest Obito had a point. Tsunade needed concrete information before doubling the patrols.

"Alright, you win, Obito, but remember, should anything happen you get out of there fast no matter what happens. Even if we get caught, you continue running, got it?" Jiraiya warned.

Obito nodded. "I understand and will do so if needed."

"Good now lets' get going." Jiraiya said.

The two exited the dark cave into the star filled moon lit night. A light breeze blew across the land. Obito gazed at the sky. Another memory came to light as he ran off into the night towards the hide out. 'It was close to dark when I died, I remember.' He thought as the cave grew smaller in the distance.

"I suppose I'm going to get my wish after all, Jiraiya-san."

"What do you mean by that, Obito?" Jiraiya asked.

"I wished back then when I was younger that I could have spent more time with Kakashi and Rin. I had no regrets the night I died, I just wanted more time, time I couldn't' have then. At least now I can find a way to spend a little more time with Kakashi if only for a short while. I know there'll be a day when I can spend time with Rin, when we all can together, just like old times." Obito smiled.

Jiraiya smiled. "It's god to hear you're not living in the past anymore, Obito."

Within an hour they reached the nearest hide out. They stood several yards away so they wouldn't be detected.

Inside the remaining akatsuki member's holograms stood in position as they began extracting Yugito's tailed beast.

"Once again, remember to watch your backs everyone. We're going to do both so it's going to take six days. We have Hidan and Kakuzu to thank for capturing these two tailed beasts. Well done you two." The leader said.

"Yeah, yeah, it wasn't that hard. Just don't make me do it again. Those leaf brats keep getting in my way." Hidan said.

"Don't worry, Hidan, I have no assignments for you and you may both do as you please once we're done." The leader said.

"Good because I need a break from Kakuzu!" Hidan said.

"Don't think I can' hear you, Hidan. I'm just ignoring you. I have better things to do." Kakuzu said.

"Oh right, like go on a murderous rage again after this? How productive, Kakuzu." Hidan said.

"Don't push your luck, Hidan. You may be immortal but I can still leave you in pieces on the ground. Who would you get then to put you back together I wonder?" Kakuzu retorted.

"Why you…" Hidan growled.

The leader cut them off. "Enough you two, I will silence you both if you don't stop your senseless bickering!" The leader warned.

Hidan and Kakuzu stared in silence at each other. They knew better than to challenge their leader, they all did.

Obito and Jiraiya quietly slipped in through the rocks with their jutsu. Jiraiya motioned to Obito as he pressed his fingers to his lips. Obito nodded as they watched from amongst the ceiling.

"I hope Naruto does not share the same fate like the others.' Obito thought as he watched Yugito's soul slowly escape her body. 'What a terrible fate for anyone to share.'

"So what are our plans for the kyuubi kid? You said you'd save it until this meeting and I've been dyeing to hear it!" Kisame said excitedly with a wide grin on his face.

"Well if you really must know, Kisame. I was planning on attacking him very soon. He'll be on of the last one's we'll go after considering I've learned the fifth hokage has stepped up the security. She has her anbu patrolling every night along with her watchmen. We must be careful now. She may choose to have her anbu to do daily patrols." The leader said.

"If she does, it would be a desperate move. At the moment, she doesn't have that many shinobi at her disposal, if you consider Orochimaru's attack on konoha three years ago and the occasional loss of shinobi from time to time, if they've lost any." Itachi began.

"Yes, Itachi it would be a desperate move but these are desperate times for the leaf village. Our recent activity has raised alarm to villages across the country." The leader said.

"Yes but if she chooses to do so she risks exhausting her anbu members, it could make the entrance a little easier." Itachi said.

"True, however, that just may give us the edge we need, but it will also make sneaking unnoticed harder." The leader said.

"I assume you have a plan laid out then, especially for Naruto?" Itachi said.

The leader smiled. "Yes, I have plans for our nine tailed fox. All I'll say for now is you and Kisame won't be alone. Someone will be with you that night." The leader said.

"Now I'm really getting excited! Alright, let's get this over with quickly so we can move on!" Kisame said.

Jiraiya nodded at Obito and motioned towards the ceiling. They silently slipped out unnoticed. Jiraiya waited until the hide out was far from their site before he spoke.

"Obito, do you remember if your leader mentioned when they would strike at Naruto or who he'll send to go with Itachi and Kisame?" He asked.

"No, the last meeting I remember he talked about capturing two tailed beast and how he would make his final move soon but nothing definitive." Obito said.

Jiraiya looked down. "I see, of course not. Obito, this is the last time that you and I will ever go back to their hideouts again."

"What do you mean, Jiraiya-san?" Obito asked.

"Promise me, Obito, that you wont' go back there for now. Promise me that the next time you go back is for the final battle with akatsuki with the leaf ninja." Jiraiya's words were firm, his eyes piercing and stern.

Obito held out his hand. "I promise, Jiraiya-san, that I will only go back when it is time to wage war once more."

Jiraiya shook his hand. "Thank you, Obito. This is for both our safety."

"I'll stay far away from akatsuki as much as I can, although I'm not sure where I'll go now." Obito said.

"Obito, I've been thinking about these recent events and I've realized none of us know what the future holds. I know we both agreed that it isn't a good idea for you to head back to the village as you are now, but I've really given this some thought. I want you to come back to the village with me for a day." Jiraiya said.

Obito was silent for a few moments. "What do you mean, go back for a visit? That is not a good idea, Jiraiya-san! It'll blow my cover and put Naruto in more danger!" He began.

"I know, Obito, I know, but like I said, who knows what the future holds, and I'll bet you haven't had much of a chance for a real visit, have you?" Jiraiya asked.

"Well, no, not exactly." Obito said.

"You'll only be there for a day and I'll ensure that you're well disguised." Jiraiya said.

Obito shifted his feet awkwardly. "I don't know…is this really a good idea, Jiraiya-san?"

"Well it is a little risky but I'm sure you want to visit your old home, don't you? After all, you could use a break, a chance to catch up on old memories. The village has changed quite a bit; you'd be surprised, although some things are still the same. I think you'd enjoy it what do you say? Should something happen, at least you can't say you never a chance to tour your old home." Jiraiya said.

Obito thought for a moment. He did like the idea of going back for a real visit. And he did at least want to meet Kakashi formerly this time, without revealing his true identity.

"Alright, Jiraiya-san, I'll come just for a day."

"Alright, then it's a done deal! Scrap the old plan; we're going to have some fun!" Jiraiya said putting an arm around Obito.

"After we get out of here and find a place to sleep. Hey, Jiraiya-san, could we search for a barbeque shop tomorrow?" Obito asked.

Jiraiya shook his head. 'Just like Naruto.' He thought. "Yes, Obito, we'll search for a barbeque shop tomorrow."

"Alright let's set up camp here!" Obito said throwing down his bag. He quickly opened his bad and unrolled his sleeping bag before Jiraiya could protest.

Jiraiya sighed as he placed his bad down and slowly took out his sleeping back. He unrolled it and laid it on the softest ground. He gazed over at Obito who was already asleep. He silently crawled in and let himself drift of to sleep.

Naruto awoke to the early morning sun shining through his window. He sued his arm to shield his sleepy eyes as he allowed them to slowly come into focus. He sat up and gazed out at the view of the village. The streets were already becoming populated with people. He hopped out of bed and began making his favourite breakfast; instant cup of ramen with milk. He boiled some water as he carefully poured it into the cup and impatiently waited for three minutes to pass.

'Man I hate waiting three minutes for my ramen. I wish I could just eat it right away.' He thought as he paced throughout his apartment, glancing back at the clock every five seconds. He sighed.

'I guess this would go by faster if I changed first.'

He walked into his drawer and pulled out his usual matching attire. He wrapped his leaf headband neatly around his head. He eyed it in the mirror as he glanced at his clock. His three minute waiting time was over. He ran into the kitchen, nearly stubbing his foot on the table. He peeled off the lid and happily grabbed his chop sticks. He dug into his meal and was about to take the first bite when Kakashi appeared at his window.

"You know, Naruto, an instant cup of ramen with milk isn't healthy. You need to have your greens to help stay healthy." Kakashi said.

"Well ramen is my favourite dish and I don't' really like the colour green." Naruto said.

"Well I'm surprised you're still healthy after all the food you eat all the time." Kakashi chuckled.

"Ha-ha, very funny, Kakashi-sensei. So what are you doing here anyway?" Naruto said slurping his noodles noisily.

"Well I came here to see if you're ready to continue your special training today." Kakashi said.

"Of course I am! I've been waiting for you to get back from your mission for three days!" Naruto said.

"Well I'm sorry, Naruto, I can't control the missions Tsunade gives me. She needed my help. It was an important mission that couldn't' be avoided." Kakashi explained.

He knew Naruto would still be upset with him when he got back but would quickly forget his anger once they began training again.

"So when can we continue my training?" Naruto asked.

"As soon as you're ready to start." Kakashi said.

"Alright, you really mean that Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto exclaimed.

Kakashi nodded. Naruto quickly gulped down his breakfast as he ran to put his shoes on.

"I know you're excited but you don't' have to move that fast." Kakashi said as Naruto whipped past him and out the front door to lock it.

"Come on, hurry sensei!" Naruto said running off.

Kakashi sighed as he stepped out of the window to catch up with Naruto. They lane dint he same training ground with the largest area.

"Alright, Naruto, considering you came a long way these past several days before I left it's time you learned the final step: building chakra and releasing it. By that I mean compress your chakra into a small ball and release it at the same time, like my chidori. Remember, this must be done smoothly so don't' expect yourself to master it today. Even with two hundred clones it may take another day or two." Kakashi said.

"Right, shadow clone jutsu!"

Within a cloud of smoke appeared two hundred Naruto's who all began to compress and release their chakra. Kakahsi pulled out his latest novel of make out paradise and began re-reading it for the fourth time.

It was several hours before a Naruto clone had come close to forming a new attack. He began jumping around as the other Naruto's stared at him in envy.

"I can't allow myself to beat me!" The real Naruto said as he began to focus harder on his chakra.

Kakashi stared at him in amusement. 'It's funny how Naruto seems to create his own motivation with himself. He never ceases to amaze me.' He thought. He continued to read. 'At this rate he'll have it mastered in no time.'

Naruto trained the day away until the sun began to set. Kakashi placed his book back into his back pouch.

"Alright, Naruto, we'll end it here for today." Kakashi said.

Naruto turned around and dispersed his clones, he wavered a little.

"You promised that we'll continue tomorrow without any interruptions?" Naruto said panting.

"Yes, Naruto, I promise, now are you going to be alright?" Kakashi asked.

"I'll be fine, I just need some food!" Naruto said.

Kakashi scratched his head. "Naruto, I've been thinking, why don't I treat you to dinner? You've been training hard and it will make up for the training that you lost while I was away."

Naruto stared at him wide eyed, smiling. "You really mean that, sensei?"

"Yes, yes, now tell what you want to--"

Naruto ran past him at lightning speed leaving only a dust cloud behind him.

"Hey, wait, you didn't tell me what you want…" Of course,' He thought. 'The only thing he wants is ichiraku ramen.' He sighed. 'Why one earth did I offer him free dinner when I know full well what will happen? Sometimes I think I don't fully understand myself.' He slowly followed Naruto's dust trail.

Naruto had already begun eating his first bowl when Kakashi arrived.

"Naruto said that you're paying for the ramen today." The owner said.

"That's right, I offered him free dinner." Kakashi said sitting down.

"That's a little careless, don't you think?" The owner replied.

"I know, I wasn't really thinking but I do owe him from training." Kakashi said.

"So what would you like to order?" The owner asked.

"I'll have a bowl of pork ramen, please." Kakashi said.

Naruto placed his bowl down. "I'll have another, please."

'Here we go.' Kakashi thought.

As usual, Kakashi had only one bowl of ramen while Naruto had five.

"Thank you, please come again!" The owner said as the two left the shop.

"Alright, Naruto, we'll continue our training first thing tomorrow, ok?" Kakashi said.

"You got it, Kakashi-sensei! I'll be ready bright and early!" Naruto said running off home.

Kakashi headed back to his apartment for a long nights rest, after reading make out paradise, of course.


	25. Chapter 25: Shikamaru's plan!

A/N: Hey guys sorry for the late update of this story…had a bit of a block on what to write and didn't do much writing at all

**A/N: Hey guys sorry for the late update of this story…had a bit of a writing block on what to write and didn't do much writing at all. Wrote a little more this time so the next chapter should come up a little sooner. I wonder how many of you will notice that this chapter is longer than the rest so far! Again, thank you for being patient on awaiting the newest chapter. So without further adieu, here's the latest chapter of our knuckle head, Naruto's training and ever late sensei-Kakashi!**

Naruto awoke the next morning in the bright early morning sun. He quickly ate his breakfast and got changed and headed over to Kakashi's apartment. Nothing would steer him away today from his training. He searched the village for Kakashi's apartment. After a few minutes he found it and knocked loudly on the door of room 233. Kakashi slowly opened the door. He was surprised to see Naruto standing in front of his door step.

"Naruto don't knock so loudly, it's still very early in the morning." Kakashi said.

"Well you said that we would start training first ting in the morning." Kakashi said.

"Yes but I didn't mean come to my apartment this early. Oh well, you might as well come in."

Kakashi moved aside for Naruto who gaped at his apartment space.

"Wow this is a nice apartment, it's huge!" Naruto said.

"It's not that big, it's just a little bigger than yours, Naruto." Kakashi said putting his vest on. "Make yourself at home, Naruto."

Naruto wandered into Kakashi's bedroom where he saw a picture of him and his teamates.

"Hey Kakashi-sensei, is that you in this picture?" Naruto asked.

"Which picture are you referring to?" Kakashi said stepping into his room.

Naruto pointed to the picture.

"Oh that one, well that's a picture of me, Rin, Obito and the fourth hokage." He said.

"The fourth hokage was your sensei?" Naruto exclaimed.

"Yes he was, but that was before he became hokage." Kakashi explained.

"Wow…." Naruto stared in awe at the picture.

"Come on, Naruto, we better get going." Kakashi said.

Naruto followed him out.

"Look, Naruto, how about I meet you at the training ground in an hour?" Kakashi said.

"Huh, why, you said we would train!" Naruto protested.

"And we will, I promise, but I have to do something first, ok?" Kakashi reassured him.

"I suppose so." Naruto pouted.

"It's something I do every morning before I begin my day." Kakashi said.

'I'm sorry, Naruto, but this is an important matter. Perhaps someday you'll understand.' Kakashi thought as he walked to the memorial.

There were graves for his fallen companions but he preferred to visit them all at once, occasionally going to the individual grave stones. Sometimes he would just visit for Obito's sake.

Naruto's generation is lucky; not knowing the hardship of war or a friend lost as a result. Of course there were deaths of fellow shinobi that would bring a dark cloud over the village, but to live n such peaceful times, no wars, only treaties was truly blissful.

'I can only hope that Naruto and the others don't live through what we had to before. Back then I thought rules and regulations were everything then, how foolish I was.'

He stood silently at the monument for an hour, reminiscing of his foolish younger self and the lessons he's learned. His students knew he had close friends who died. He told them that the second day, never piecing his lateness with it. The late morning sun warmed his back as he turned in its direction.

'Sorry, old friends, I'd stay longer but I promised a certain knuckle head I'd continue his training.'

He fled from the monument and joined Naruto who was already hard at training.

"Hey you're supposed to wait for me, you know that." Kakashi said as he walked towards Naruto.

"Yeah I know but I waited for an hour but figured you'd be longer so I gave myself a head start to save time." Naruto said.

"Well next time wait for me before continuing." Kakashi warned.

He whipped out his book while keeping a close eye on Naruto.

Just as he witnessed before, Naruto was advancing quickly day by day using his multi shadow clone jutsu. He spent the remainder of the week supervising him and occasionally giving useful tips.

However, upon the seventh day of training, Shikamaru joined them for a short visit. Naruto stopped to greet him.

"Hey, Shikamaru, how's it going?" He said waving.

"Um, I'm fine, Naruto, how's the training going?" Shikamaru asked.

"Great, I thin I'm going to mater it today!" Naruto said.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Naruto. You may master this jutsu today, or not." Kakashi added.

"Don't say that, Kakashi-sensei, I'll master it this time for sure, believe it!" Naruto exclaimed with a fist in the air.

Shikamaru turned to Kakash. "Anyway, I was wondering if I could talk you, Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi nodded, noting his seriousness. "Sure, let's talk by the trees over there." He pointed to the trees bordering the edge of the training ground.

"Naruto, Shikamaru and I are going to be over by those trees. You continue your training in the mean time and don't worry; I'll still be able to see you." Kakashi said.

Naruto grumbled under his breath as he continued to work with his shadow clones.

Shikamaru followed Kakashi into the shaded trees.

"So what's on your mind, Shikamaru?" He asked.

"Well it's about Asuma, and the two akatsuki members, Hidan and Kakuzu. I've been tracking their movements and thought about ambushing them. At least there may be two less akatsuki members to worry about." Shikamaru said.

"You're talking about vengeance on what they did to Asuma?" Kakashi said.

"Yeah but I know that Ino and Choji and I can take them down! I've already come up with a plan and that's why I came to you first. We can't do it alone and I was wondering if you could help us." Shikamaru said.

"Look, I know how you feel but vengeance will get you nowhere, Shikamaru. Surely you must know that already." Kakashi said.

"I know but with you we'd make the perfect team, and I was thinking if Naruto could come along, we could use his wind chakra and this time I'll ensure we'll succeed." Shikamaru said.

Kakashi sighed. "Does Tsunade know about this?"

"No, I haven't told her yet." Shikamaru said.

Kakashi stared at him silent for a few minutes.

"This plan of yours is dangerous and reckless. You're planning to face another A ranked mission, one that's several levels above your chuunin rank." Kaklashi began.

Shikamaru looked down.

"But you do have a point. They do need to be stopped, and Ino and Choji combined with Naruto and I make the perfect team." Kakashi said.

Shikamaru met his gaze, smiling. "Thank you, Kakashi-sensei."

"Now all we have to do is convince Tsunade. Naruto, come here, we need to talk to you." Kakashi said.

All the Naruto's looked up in confusion. He dispersed his clones and ran over. "What's going on, what were you two talking about?"

"Listen up, Naruto because I'm only going say this once so save your questions for later because we don't have much time." Shikamaru said.

Naruto cocked his head to the side as Shikamaru explained his plan.

Meanwhile Tsunade was busy monitoring Asuma's progress.

"Well you've made a little progress today, Asuma. Your body seems to be responding well to the treatment." Tsunade said.

"Well that's some good news." Asuma said.

"Don't think you're off the hook, though. You still have a long recovery ahead. You really gave us quite a scare. Everyone was afraid you wouldn't make it." Tsunade said.

"Yeah sorry about that, next time will be different, I promise." Asuma said.

"Well in any case," Tsunade turned to Kurenai "I expect to se you for your first check up tomorrow."

Kurenai nodded. "Yes I haven't forgotten."

"I'll be around for Asuma and a few errands but I'm leaving Shizune to be able to keep my eye on the both of you." Tsunade said.

Kurenai blushed slightly.

"Especially you, Asuma, I don't want to see a single lit cigarette from your mouth while under my care, got it?" Tsunade warned.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, don't worry, I know well what happens if I do." Asuma said.

"Good, now get some rest, you'll need it. I've got to head back to my office." Tsunade said leaving.

"Hmph, she worries too much." Asuma said.

"And for good reason, too; you're a heavy smoker. You really should consider quitting." Kurenai said.

"Yes I will quit someday." Asuma said.

"Yes and that day is coming very soon." Kurenai said in a stern voice.

Asuma sighed knowing very well he had not of a say in the matter.

'I guess I better enjoy my last few packs when I get out of here.' He thought.

Tsunade quickly walked back to her office, attempting to not be seen by anyone, not even Shizune until she got a chance to sit down and relax. She quickly poked her head around the corner. All seemed clear for now. She quickly ran around and bumped into Yamato.

"Oh, lady Tsunade, sorry about that, are you alright?" He asked.

"Yes I'm fine, don't worry, but I thought the hallway was clear?" Tsunade asked confused.

"It was the last I saw before rounding the corner myself." Yamato laughed. "It's good timing because I need to talk to you." Yamato said.

Tsunade hesitated. "Uh, not right now, Yamato, this isn't a good time. Is it really that important?"

"Um, well not really, but--"

"Good because I'm a little busy. Whatever it is you can tell me later." Tsunade said quickly stepping into her office and shutting the door behind her.

Yamato scratched his head. "I don't have the time later to tell you that I saw Kakashi, Naruto and Shikamaru heading your way."

Tsunade sighed as she sat heavily in her chair. 'Finally, I can relax for a little bit.' She thought.

She only rested her eyes for a moment but was startled when she heard a knock on the door.

'Who could it possibly be? Shizune can't' be done her rounds already.'

"Come in." She said.

The door slowly opened as Kakashi, Naruto and Shikamaru stepped in.

"Naruto shouldn't you be training, or is something wrong?" Tsunade said.

"Not at all, Tsunade, at least nothing is of yet." Kakashi said.

"It's about Asuma and akatuski. I have reason to believe, with reports of course, that Hidan and Kakuzu plan to come here." Shikamaru said.

"Are you sure you're right about this, Shikamaru?" Tsunade asked.

Shikamaru nodded. "I am and I've been tracking their movements. Besides, Hidan promised he'd be back to finish us all of."

"Think about what you're saying, Shikamaru. It sounds like a plot of revenge for what they did to Asuma." Tsunade said.

"But it's not that, this is for the whole village, and I know this time we won't fail." Shikamaru said.

"He's right; this isn't about vengeance or personal gain. It's about preventing another attack, protecting Naruto. I've already talked to Shikamaru about this, and he's made a list of shinobi for the team. You know he'll go and do it regardless so why not hear him out?" Kakashi said.

"Alright, proceed with your plan, Shikamaru." Tsunade said.

Shikamaru carefully laid out his strategy from a five man squad instead of three to partial battle plan. Tsunade thought for a moment in silence once he was finished.

"It's a good plan, Shikamaru, and I've got to say I'm impressed. However, your strategy is only partial and seemingly reckless. How can I trust all of you to come back alive? We nearly lost Asuma, in which his condition is nothing short of a miracle." Tsunade said.

"I'm aware of that, but--"

"But nothing Shikamaru, these guys are s ranked ninja and you're only chuunin level." Tsunade said.

Kakashi stepped in. "I understand where you're coming from but no other team will e able to beat those two because none of them have unique as skill neither as a leader nor as a cunning mind like Shikamaru. In just a short time alone he figured out Hidan's jutsu. No one else that day could have figured it out as quickly. This time there's an advantage; myself, and Naruto. I'll be there with them, and if I have to, use my mangekyou sharingan. I'll make sure they all make it out alive. Give us some time and if the plan Shikamaru devises doesn't' sound solid I'll call it off and we'll all report back to you." Kakashi said.

"Yeah, come, granny Tsunade!" Naruto pleaded.

The room was silent for five minutes before Tsunade finally spoke.

"Fine, I'm giving you a day to come up with a battle plan. If it's not solid, I'm sending someone else, do you understand?" Tsunade said.

All nodded before stepping out.

"Well guys I guess that's it until tomorrow." Kakashi said.

"What time should we meet tomorrow?" Shikamaru asked.

"I'd say about ten am at the village gate and continue on from there." Kakashi said.

Naruto and Shikamaru nodded. Kakashi turned to Naruto.

"Naruto, why don't you take a break for now and then meet me back at our usual spot in a couple of hours? It'll give you time to enjoy your favourite ramen." He said.

"Right, good idea Kakashi-sensei; I'll see you later then, Shikamaru!" Naruto waved before leaving.

"Hey, Kakashi thanks for your help back there." Shikamaru said.

Kakashi nodded. "It's no problem, Shikamaru, really. I was glad to help you, just don't let this got to your head."

"I won't, I promise." Shikamaru said.

"Alright, I'm off; if you need anything just ask."

Kakashi left Shikamaru in the middle of the hallway.

At that moment, Jiraiya and Obito entered through he front gates of the hidden leaf village. They approached the two guards, Izumo and Kotetsu.

"Hey guys, how are things going, slow?" Jiraiya laughed.

"Yeah, slow as usual of course. Who's your friend, is he visiting for the day?" Izumo asked.

"Yes this is my friend, Yuri. I'll be showing him around the village today. I hope that's alright with you two. It's just he heard so many good things he wanted to see things for himself." Jiraiya said.

"Yes of course, have fun! I hope you enjoy your stay, Yuri!" Kotetsu said.

"We will thank you." Jiraiya said pushing Obito ahead.

"That was well done, Jiraiya-san." Obito said.

"Yes but remember, Obito, you have to lower your voice a little more in case we run into the others." Jiraiya said.

"I know but it's just I feel silly dressed up like this." Obito said.

He walked awkwardly in his disguise. He wore an orange and black robe (he didn't want to look like sketchy wearing all black and orange is his favourite colour), matching ninja style shirt and pants, black shoes with dark lense goggles.

"You're right, Jiraiya-san, much has changed. I didn't get to look around the whole village before." Obito said.

"What do you mean you didn't see this much before? How did you manage to get in the first time?" Jiraiya asked.

Obito looked down embarrassed. "Well I obviously haven't told anyone, but can you keep a secret Jiraiya-san?" He asked.

Jiraiya nodded. "I won't tell anyone, I promise."

**Reviews are always welcome, may it even be negative! Let me know how I'm doing! Must be doing well lol.**


	26. Chapter 26: Obito, meet Tsunade!

"Ok, well when Itachi and Kisame first came to the village to test Naruto's new abilities, I secretly followed them here

"Ok, well when Itachi and Kisame first came to the village to test Naruto's new abilities, I secretly followed them here. Upon their arrival, they went to the ramen shop and lured him out. I waited until they were gone and quietly sneaked around the village until I came across Kakashi at the memorial I told you about earlier." Obito said.

"So what did you do after the explosion?" Jiraiya asked.

"Well I fled the village and the next day I returned and wondered around posing as a member of the black ops." Obito said.

Jiraiya looked at him dumbfounded. "How'd you manage to pull that off?"

"Simple, I took the armor from the dead body of an anbu member. I'm sure he must have spotted them and died trying to stop them. As for the mask, well, I bought it at a costume shop at a nearby fair. From there I ran into a girl named Sakura and other leaf shinobi." Obito said.

He continued to explain on their trip to the barbeque pork shop how he took the old picture from the filling cabinet and how he quickly left the village shortly afterward a quick look at his old home.

"I see. Well how would you like to visit your old house? You know, be able to go inside and see what's left of it and the rest of the village later?" Jiraiya asked as they entered the restaurant.

"Yes! I wanted to go inside my house but I didn't want to trespass…" Obito trailed off.

Jiraiya put his arm around Obito. "Come on you're not trespassing, how could you? It's been open to the public for years! Besides no one visits there anymore. It's your own home and you can't trespass on that." Jiraiya said laughing.

They sat themselves down at a nearby table as a waitress approached them. Jiraiya gawked at the young woman.

"So what can I get for you two today?" She asked politely.

"We'd like some water and a battle of sake. My friend here will tell you what we want to order." Jiraiya said smiling.

The young woman turned to Obito as he began pointing to six pictures.

"We'd like three orders of this each, please." Obito asked.

"Sure thing; and you're so polite too." She laughed taking their menus.

Jiraiya prodded him when she left.

"Hey good job, you sure know how to score with the ladies." He said.

Obito stared in confusion. "What do you mean, Jiraiya-san?"

"I'm talking about the way you talked to her. She likes you; that was perfect and you didn't have to try! I can't do that, not in a place like this." Jiraiya said.

Obito stared in silence.

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong, was it something I said?"

"Yes!" Obito blurted out. "I'm not like that Jiraiya-san, that's inappropriate! I never knew you could be such a pervert."

Jiraiya placed his hand over Obito's mask from across the table. "Hey, keep your voice down, will you? You're beginning to sound just like Naruto. Would you feel better if I said you have a way with woman? You're very easy going with people." Jiraiya said.

"Well when you put it that way, yes it does make me feel better." Obito said.

'I finally have someone else whom I hoped to relate my interests to and he turns out to be just like Naruto in every way. And here I thought they would be different from each other in other ways but I don't think that's possible with these two.' He sighed. 'I guess my only hope through my books is Kakashi.' He thought.

The waitress came by shortly after with their water, sake and pork.

"Here you go, boys, I hope you enjoy your lunch." She glanced at Obito and smiled.

He blushed under his mask and sat still until she left. Jiraiya nudged him again.

"See, what did I tell you? She likes you; you should ask her out sometime!" Jiraiya said.

Obito's grew reader, and was grateful he had the mask to hide his face that was now red as a beat.

"I don't think so, Jiraiya-san, not with what's going on and all. Besides, I'm not really interested." Obito said.

"Alright, I was going to say we could stick around for a few more days but if that's what you want." He said in a sad tone as he placed the pork on the grill.

'And yet you're the only one who's sad about this.' Obito thought.

They continued to eat while Jiraiya told him of his ideas to write for his new make out paradise series, much to Obito's distaste.

"Jiraiya-san, I think your ideas for your book are great, but I'm not the type to read them." Obito said.

"Come on, Obtio, I really can't accept that! Just about every man reads them! Tell me, have you read even one of my books?" Jiraiya asked forgetting all about his code name.

"Um, well no, but it sounds quite graphic." Obtio said.

"Well I suppose to the untrained mind, especially in your case considering you don't' seem to have much experience with this type of material." Jiraiya rubbed his chin. He handed Obito one of his books. "Here, take this and spend some time reading it tonight. It's the first volume to the series, called make out paradise. Read the first chapter, I'm sure someone like you will find some liking to it."

He smiled as Obito slowly reached for the book.

"Alright, I guess I'll give it a try, Jiraiya-san." Obito said.

Jiraiya patted him on the shoulder. "Come on, lets' finish up our lunch. I want you to meet someone after this."

For once Jiraiya willingly paid for the meal and lead Obito down the streets of Konoha towards a building centered in front of the rock faces of the former hokage's.

"Jiraiya-san, isn't this the hokage's office?" Obito asked.

"Right you are, Obito, this is the hokage's office, Lady Tsunade's to be exact." Jiraiya said.

"You mean that woman that's so scary she could bring upon the apocalypse when angry?" Obito asked worriedly.

Jiraiya burst out laughing. "That's perfect, Obito, I don't think I could describe her temper better myself! I'm going to have to write that down!

"I suppose you could if you wanted to." Obito said.

"Don't worry so much, Obito, she's usually patient most of the time. I'm sure she'll be glad to meet you." Jiraiya said.

He led Obito to her office, forgetting to knock before entering, her pet peeve.

"Jiraiya, what did I say about knocking before entering?" Tsunade yelled.

"Look, I'm sorry about that, ok? I just forgot to knock, I'm sorry." Jiraiya said with his hands up in defense.

"Well you're not one to forget. Well what did you want anyway? Do you have new information on akatsuki?" Tsunade asked.

"Well yes but that's not the only reason I came here." He began.

Tsunade took notice to Obito who was now huddled behind Jiraiya.

"And who's this, has he been shown to the guards?" Tsunade asked.

"Um, um…" Obito stuttered.

"Yes he has, don't worry, I've taken care of everything." Jiraiya said.

"What do you mean you took care of everything? You know things are supposed to be run by me first!" Tsunade said.

"Well I didn't mean for it to come across like that. I came here to introduce my good friend, Tidus." Jiraiya said.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "That's an odd coincidence that we have an anbu shinobi with the name Tidus."

"Well you know Tidus is a pretty popular name where he comes from." Jiraiya said.

"And just what does he come from exactly?" Tsunade asked turning to Obito.

"Well it's in, uh…" Jiraiya trailed off desperately trying to come up with a village name.

"I'm from the sky land." Obito said.

Tsunade stared at him silently while Jiraiya stared on wide eyed.

"Oh you mean the village hidden in the clouds?" Tsunade asked.

"Yeah that's what I meant!" Obito said scratching his head.

"Well that makes sense now. Why didn't you tell me before, Jiraiya?" Tsunade asked.

"I must have forgotten." Jiraiya said sighing.

Obito too sighed, relieved she believed the lie. A knock on the door broke the tense moment.

"Come in." Tsunade said.

"You wanted to see me?" Kakashi asked stepping in.

"Yes I did. I wanted to talk to you about tomorrow." Tsunade said.

He looked at Jiraiya and Obito. "Hello, Jiraiya, how are you? Who's your friend here, is he new to the village?"

'Kakashi-san, it's you!" Obito thought. He stared in awe.

"Yes this is my good friend, Tidus. I told him I'd show him around the village for a day or two. So how have you been?" Jiraiya asked.

"I've been well and Naruto's been hard at work creating his new jutsu. Well from what I heard down the hall you probably didn't tell Tsunade right away, did you?" Kakashi asked.

"Well no, but she knows now, doesn't she? I also forgot to knock on my way in." Jiraiya said.

"I see, well that explains it. So, Tidus, what village are you from?" Kakashi asked.

Obito broke away from his thoughts.

"Huh, oh, uh, I come from the land of clouds." He said.

"I see. Say, I've never seen a hidden cloud headband, do you have one?" Kakashi asked.

"No I don't wear one, I'm sorry. It's just it gets in the way of my mask and makes it difficult to wear." Obito said.

"Kakashi nodded. "That's understandable; it took me awhile to adjust to my headband position."

"Hey, Kakashi, do you mind if I ask you a question?" Obito asked.

"No, go ahead, Tidus." Kakashi said.

"You look as if you have a deep scar, how did you get it?" Obito asked.

Kakashi traced his fingers over his scar. "I got this scar a long time ago in my younger days a shinobi protecting a close friend." Kakashi said.

"I'm sorry, I'm sure your friend is watching over you." Obito said.

He had to bite his lip from blurting out the truth. He wanted to yell to Kakashi that he was his old friend who had saved his life so long ago and that he was still alive to protect him.

"Well I'm sure you have other things to attend to so Tidus if you don't mind, could you please wait outside my office? I have some important matters to discuss with Kakashi." Tsunade said.

"Yes, of course, Lady Tsunade." Obito bowed and quickly stepped outside.

Tsunade smiled. He was a total stranger to her and yet she couldn't' help but like him.

"I wanted to double check tomorrow's mission. Is Naruto closer to completing his jutsu?" Tsunade asked.

Kakashi nodded. "He's come a long way with just a day. He's grasped the idea now and should have it mastered shortly."

"Is there a chance he'll have it mastered by tomorrow's mission?" Tsuande asked.

"It's hard to say, but it's also doubtable. But this is Naruto we're talking about and knowing him he'll master it by the time the missions over." Kakashi said.

"That's true, but I'm worried if he can handle them." Tsunade said.

"He'll be fine, trust his ability. I'll make sure at least one of the akatsuki members is dead before tomorrow ends, I promise." Kakashi said.

Tsunade smiled. "Thank you, Kakashi; I know you'll stay true to your word. You may go now, I'm sorry to have bothered you during your break." Tsunade said.

"There's no need to apologize, it's fine." Kakashi walked up to Jiraiya.

"I guess I'll talk to you another time, Jiraiya."

Jiraiya nodded. "Take care Kakashi and good luck on your mission tomorrow."

Kakashi stepped out into the hallway where Obito stood waiting.

"I'll see you later, Tidus, it was nice meeting you." He said.

"It was nice meeting you too, Kakashi." Obito said.

Kakashi left Obito to wait in the lonely hallway for Jiraiya.

"Tsunade, akatsuki are on the move and their next target is Naruto. I'm not sure when they'll come but you can bet within this week. He's the only one they need and no doubt they have the other tailed beast caught by now." Jiraiya said.

Tsunade quickly stood up. "What, are you serious?"

"Yeah they're making their final move and so should we. I know the anbu will be tired but there's no room for rest now. They're sending a three man squad; Itachi, Kisame, and another member, but the leader didn't mention who." Jiraiya said.

"This isn't good, the village isn't ready yet!" Tsunade said.

"I know that's why I've arranged a meeting for you and me with the elders tomorrow." Jiraiya said.

"We're going to need the patrols around Naruto's apartment but everyone else will be at risk." Tsunade said.

"I don't think they will attack just anyone that's an innocent bystander or inconvenience. It will be at night when everyone's asleep so I don't think they'll take on the village unless they have to." Jiraiya said.

"Yes you're right, it would be time consuming." Tsunade said.

"Focus on tomorrow's mission first, then akatsuki after. I'll check on you tomorrow morning." Jiraiya said.

He joined Obito in the hall, who gazed out the window.

"Are you enjoying the view?" He asked.

"Yes from up here you can see the entire village, it's amazing!" Obito said.

"Well what would you like to see next?" Jiraiya asked.

"I'd like to see my old home. I looked in through the window while I was here before but I never got a chance to step inside." Obito said turning from the window.

"I can understand that, you must feel a little home sick by now. Well let's go."


	27. Chapter 27: No place like home

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry it took so long for me to update with a new chapter! I meant to get this all typed up a couple of days sooner and have some more written so it shouldn't take too long I hope to update the next chapter. I'm currently addicted to an online game called Shaiya. Ok, I have been for awhile, hence the slow updates but it's a good free rpg game. It really is so if you're interested look it up! **

Jiraiya lead Obito from the office into the Uchiha clan's entrance.

"Alright, Obito, you used to live here, you know what your old house looks like so lead the way." Jiraiya said.

Obito closed his eyes and tried to remember where he used to live. Within a few moments the image of his home appeared alongside others near a few corner shops. 

"Right, I remember now, it's this way, Jiraiya-san." Obito pointed to the north east and walked with Jiraiya following behind.

It only took them ten minutes to reach his home. Obito stepped onto the front porch.

"This is where I used to live Jiraiya-san!" Obito said.

Jiraiya joined him and gazed through the right window.

"Well it looks to be in great shape considering no ones lived in it for years." Jiraiya said.

'I wonder if the door's locked.' Obito thought.

He placed his hand on the knob and turned it slowly as the door made a familiar click. The door creaked as it swung open. He slowly stepped inside and examined the living room where his mother would sit and watch him and his father play shogi on the coffee table.

He smiled at the memory. Although his father won the game most of the time he would sometimes lose on purpose, insisting Obito had bested him, but he knew better. He wondered into the kitchen where his mother spent her mornings making breakfast and washing dishes. His memories took him back to the mouth watering aroma of his mothers cooking, bringing home and his first report card.

"Wow this is a really nice place! I would love to live here." Jiraiya commented from the living room.

He poked his head through the doorway. "Your mom sure kept everything neat and tidy." He said.

"Yeah I remembered she was always like that. She would always bring me in here to clean up all the cuts and scratches I often had." Obito said.

Jiraiya smiled. "Shall we explore the upstairs?" He asked.

He let Obito lead him up the staircase and into the first room on the right.

"This is my old room. I can see my mother left some of my things the way they were after I died. My parents had crown molding placed in every room of the house." Obito said.

Surrounding the four white walls of his medium sized bedroom were some old posters. Crown molding bordered the top and bottom of the walls. Placed on the shelves were several pictures and some small medals with the twin bed was pushed against the wall.

'His mother must have left things this way in honour of her supposed dead son. No doubt the anbu left things un-touched to honour the slain families.' Jiraiya thought.

Obito moved on to the next room that was a little further down the left hand side of the hallway.

"This was our guest room, although we hardly used it." Obito said.

The room was a little smaller but still fit a double bed along with a few paintings. It was a very simple room with light beige walls and very little accessories, just a dresser and a night stand with a small lamp.

Obito lead Jiraiya down to the last room at the end of the hall which was the biggest bedroom in the house.

"And this," He paused. "This was my parent's bedroom."

Jiraiya looked around the decorated room. The walls were painted a nice dark green with two night stand placed beside queen sized bed and chocolate brown drapes neatly placed to the side of the window.

"Hmm seems your parent's were quite the decorators." Jiraiya commented.

"My mother was, yes. The coffee table and the night stands is my fathers work, he did some carpentry jobs on the side." Obito said.

"Amazing, you come from a very gifted family." Jiraiya said.

"Yeah…" Obito's voice trailed off.

He was suddenly reminded of the time he made it a game to try to escape bed time by running around his parent's bed until he was cornered. He snapped back to reality and noticed Jiraiya had left. He headed back to his old room where he let his memories flood his mind while Jiraiya spent his time taking a closer look at the living room and kitchen.

'Considering it's been years since anyone's set a foot in this house there should be more dust hanging around here.' Jiraiya smiled. 'His mother must have been one neat freak.'

He looked over the family portraits which like the upstairs were scattered amongst the walls. A lot of the pictures were from Obito as an infant until through his years as a young teenager.

'Obito, you should never feel ashamed for what you've done in the past. Your parents have raised a fine son.' Jiraiya thought.

He continued to browse through the portraits while waiting for Obito who came down ten minutes later.

"I'm ready to go now, Jiraiya-san." Obito said.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay a little longer?" Jiraiya asked.

"No there's no need to and it wont' do me any good. All these memories are making me a little depressed." Obito said.

"Well alright, if that's what you're sure you want." Jiraiya said.

Obito followed Jiraiya outside to the door step where he shut the door to his home for the last time. He pulled out a small pin and placed it in the lock.

He remembered stepping out the door the day of his final mission with Rin and Kakashi, his mother waving goodbye and wishing him luck as he ran out of site.

The lock clicked into place. He placed it back in his robes and left the Uchiha village.

"Why did you lock the door?" Jiraiya asked.

"I don't know, I guess I still want it to feel like home. I don't want just anyone to be bale to break in. Besides, there's no need to go back there. I don't think I could live in that same house again. It just wouldn't feel the same." Obito said.

Jiraiya smiled. He lead Obito to the nearest rental space.

"Wait here." He said as he approached the clerk at the front desk. "Hi there, my friend and I were looking for a room to rent for a couple of nights. Are there any available?"

The clerk scratched his head. "Yeah we have quite a few rooms available. What kind of room do you want?"

"The biggest one you have." Jiraiya said with a smile.

"Alright, room 304; that will cost you four hundred dollars per night." The clerk said.

Jiraiya handed him the money as the clerk handed him the key.

"Unfortunately we only have one key for this room, sorry." The clerk said.

"That's fine. I'll give it to my friend. Now where is this room?" Jiraiya asked.

"It's on the third floor and is the first door on the right." The clerk said.

"Thank you." Jiraiya walked over to Obito and handed him the key. "We'll be staying here for the next couple of days. Here, you hold the key."

"Ok, so what do we do now, Jiraiya-san?" Obito asked.

"Well why don't we put our bags in our room and then head over to the hot spring! How does that sound?" Jiraiya asked.

"Sounds like a good plan to me!" Obito said.

"Excellent I'll meet you upstairs!" Jiraiya said running up the staircase with his backs in tow to the third floor.

"But I have the key…" Obito said trailing off. "I wonder what his rush is." He sighed. "I suppose I should hurry."

Obito ran to catch up and found Jiraiya hopping back and forth.

"Come on, Obito, hurry, hurry, there's no time to waste!" Jiraiya said.

Obito fumbled with the key as he tried to correctly unlock the door. When he did Jiraiya pushed past him, grabbing his bag and quickly placed them in the rooms. Before Obito could set one foot in the room Jiraiya ran back out, shut the door, grabbed Obito's arm and dragged him down the stairs towards the nearest hot spring.

Obito stood dumbfounded in the change room as Jiraiya threw him a towel.

"Ok well I'm all set to go see you in there!" Jiraiya said opening the sliding glass door and ran to the hot spring on the far left.

Obito took his time changing; neatly placing his folded clothes in a drawer beside Jiraiya's and slowly stepped out into the steaming atmosphere. Beads of sweat had begun to form as he searched through the mist.

"Over here, Tidus!" Jiraiya called.

Obito spotted Jiraiya's arm waving in the air.

"Come on, there's no need to be shy!" He said laughing.

He could hear giggles and fits of laughter as he stepped into the hot spring. He gazed around at the women surrounding Jiraiya.

"Aren't mixed hot springs great?" Jiraiya laughed.

"Umm I suppose so but I thought we came to relax?" Obito asked uncertainly.

"That's what we're doing! I'm relaxed as can be!" Jiraiya said.

Obito sat on the far end away from the women.

"Come on, don't' be so tense, relax! There's a reason why I chose this hot spring! There's nothing better than being surrounded by pretty ladies!" Jiraiya said.

One of the women sat beside Obito.

"So what's your name?" She asked.

"It's, umm, Tidus." Obito replied nervously.

"Well, Tidus, I'm Julie. It's nice to meet you. So are you anything like your friend other there?" She asked.

"Umm, no, not exactly, we're not really that much alike." Obito said looking away.

"Well I don't think I've seen you around before, are you new to the village?" She asked moving closer.

"Yes I'm only here for a few days though." Obito said.

"Really, well that's a shame, Tidus. You seem like a nice guy." She said leaning against him.

"Yeah, I am." Obito moved to the left.

"You seem a little tense, why don't you let yourself relax?" Julie said.

"I am, really, I've just never been in a hot spring before." Obito said.

"Oh, really, you've never been to a hot spring before? Well that's interesting. So, tell me, do you always wear that mask?" She asked moving even closer than before.

"Yes I do, I don't' ever take it off, not for anyone." Obito said.

"Oh, so where are you staying?"

"I'd rather not answer that." Obito said moving away again.

'Oh please let this be over soon.' He thought as he sat close to Jiraiya.


	28. Chapter 28: The second barrage

They arrived at the door step and stood silent for a moment before Jiraiya knocked

**A/N: Well akatsuki is heading into the final phase as they make their move to capture Naruto and his tailed beast. I know it's been a long update…I wrote more this time and haven't been in the writing mood although I should have finished this awhile ago meh. Also, the next chapter will have some of what viewers may see as "inappropriate" as I gave Hidan a chance to swear. I usually don't like swearing in my fan fics but as Hidan does swear quite a bit I felt I should stay true to his character although this doesn't have as much vulgar language as the manga but that's why I rated it "T". Also, as I mentioned in the summary, Sasuke will make is appearance soon, I promise. This story as you know by now isn't centralized around him or of team 7, but I haven't forgotten about him so don't fret Sasuke fans, his role will be coming up shortly!**

They arrived at the door step and stood silent for a moment before Jiraiya knocked.

"Come in."

Tsunade lead Jiraiya into a small room. They took a seat across from the elders.

"Welcome, Tsunade and Jiraiya. I'm glad to see you two on time for once." Koharu said.

Tsunade's right eye brow twitched slightly, trying her best to suppress her fiery temper.

"Thank you for having this meeting us at this late hour." Jiraiya said.

"Of course, this is a matter of the highest priority, after all the whole nation is at stake." Koharu said.

"If you'll take a look at the documents you'll see we've gathered all the information on akatsuki." Homura said pointing to the documents on the table.

Jiraiya nodded. "Yes Tsunade and I have both reviewed all of their profiles."

"We are slowly downsizing their organization." Koharu said.

"But not quick enough. Every day that passes puts the village in more danger." Koharu said.

"Yes but w can't take immediate action just yet." Homura said.

"We already have taken that step into action." Tsunade said.

"What are you talking about, Tsunade?" Koharu asked.

"I'm sending Kakashi, Shikamaru, Ino, Choji, and Naruto all out on a mission tomorrow to take out Hidan and Kakuzu." Tsunade said.

Both of the elder's jaws dropped in shock.

"Tsunade have you completely stepped out of line? Are you forgetting what happened last time?" Koharu exclaimed.

"Tsunade I don't think that's a wise move. You know they don't' stand a high chance, even with Kakashi." Homura said.

"They're in way over their heads!" Koharu yelled.

"I have faith that Shikamaru will find a way to take them both down." Tsunade said.

"Faith is not enough when dealing with akatsuki! Perhaps we should step in!" Koharu said.

"Look I don't care what you old bats think. It was Jiraiya who asked for this meeting, not me! And I am well aware of what happened last time. This is our only chance, don't you two get it?" Tsunade yelled.

Koharu and Homura stared at her silently.

"Please don't be made at Tsunade you two. It was originally Shikamaru's idea for combating Hidan and Kakuzu a second time. Besides, the reason I called this meting is for something much more important." Jiraiya said.

"What could be more important than this right now, Jiraiya?" Homura asked.

"Akatuski has a new plan and they intend to sneak into the village and take Naruto right under our noses and there's no doubt they're already heading out for the last two tailed beasts." Jiraiya said.

"They're desperate and that's why they're moving quickly. They'll get in as quickly as possible and leave no trace behind. Although taking out Hidan and Kakuzu will leave us vulnerable, akatsuki will be down by two more members. We have no choice and that's why we must protect Naruto and the village as much as possible." Tsunade said.

The elders sat quietly for a few minutes and considered all possible outcomes.

"You're right, Tsunade, we don' have a choice. We'll have to confront them sooner or later." Homura said.

Koharu quickly turned to him. "What are you talking about?"

"I don't want to see another war as much as you do but think about it; they're not going to go away. It's useless hiding Naruto because they'll track him down no matter where he goes. It's useless to try and do this peacefully." Homura said.

Koharu lowered her head. "You're right, nothing else will work. You two are right; we need to take akatsuki down."

Jiraiya grinned slightly while Tsunade with a neutral expression imagined fireworks going off with the words Tsuande's right.

"So we'll set up heavy security around Naruto's apartment as well.

Koharu and Homura nodded.

"I'll contact all anbu to set up a rotation shift." Homura said.

Tsunade nodded.

"And I'll hang around in the village for a little while should their leader come to get Naruto himself." Jiraiya said.

"Do we know his name?" Koharu asked.

"Yes. I've heard his name is Pein." Jiraiya said.

"He must have kept a low profile for you to take this long to learn his name." Tsunade said.

"Yes, they all did, but focus on the defense. We'll need all trackers for when they strike." Jiraiya said.

The elders stood up.

"Well it is getting late so we should adjourn this meeting." Homura said.

Tsunade and Jiraiya stood up and watched the two elders exit.

"Well that went better than I expected. Who says you can't teach old dog new tricks, eh, Tsunade?" Jiraiya said.

"Yeah…" Tsunade said.

"Hey, what's wrong? Are you still thinking about tomorrow?" Jiraiya said.

"No it's about those two. Their style is just so old fashioned they expect everyone to follow within that guide line." Tsuande said.

Jiraiya put his arm around Tsunade.

"Hey don't worry about those two, ok? One of these days your lectures is bound to break through their thick skulls."

Tsunade smiled and much to Jiraiya's relief, she didn't try to send him flying. For the first time she didn't want to. She wanted his arm around her, his embrace so warm and comforting it sent a feeling of peace through her.

"Come on, I'll walk you home." He said as he let her through the door first.

"Jiraiya…" She began.

"Hm?" Jiraiya said as he gazed down.

Tsunade smiled. "Thank you, for everything."

Jiraiya smiled. "Anything for you, lady Tsunade."

Naruto awoke in the early mourning light. He yawned loudly as he dragged himself into the kitchen. He rubbed his eye sleepily as he opened the fridge.

'Not used to getting up _this_ early.' He thought.

He grabbed a carton of milk and a cup of his favourite ramen and he performed his routine of boiling water and pouring it into the small cup, watching the mixture poured in rise to the top with the water. The aroma of seasoning and vegetables filled his nostrils. He changed quickly, ensuring to savor every bite of his favourite meal before running out with his shoulder bag to meet the others at the front gates.

He arrived to see Shikamaru, Ino and Choji already waiting.

"Good to se you're here on time, Naruto. Now all we have to do is wait for Kakashi." Shikamaru said.

Before Naruto could comment on his sensei's infamous tardiness, Sakura interrupted.

"Naruto, wait up, don't go yet!" Sakura called as she caught up with him.

"Don't worry, Sakura, we can't leave yet because Kakashi-sensei isn't here yet, as usual." Naruto said.

"Well that's a relief. I heard you were going on an early mission so I wanted to be here as early as I could." Sakura said.

"So what's up? You're not coming with us, are you?" Naruto looked at Shikamaru who shook his head.

"No she's not joining us today."

"Tsunade needs me for other things today. I came here to give you this." She held out a medium sized pouch.

"What's this?" Naruto asked as he took the gift.

"It's a medical kit I made for all of you. I didn't know what you would need so I packed everything." Sakura said smiling.

Naruto's eyes widened as he opened the pouch. It was cramped with first aid equipment, including three whistles.

"Wow, Sakura, you've got a whole pharmacy packed in here." He said.

"Well I had a smaller pouch but it couldn't fit everything so I brought a bigger one." Sakura said.

"So am I supposed to hold onto this?" Naruto asked.

"Yes I gave it to you to hold because you always seem to be the one who gets hurt the most and don't worry, I made sure everything I packed is light weight so it wont' weigh your down." Sakura said.

Naruto placed in his bag. "Wow, you're right, thanks a lot, Sakura."

"You're welcome." Sakura said smiling. "Well good luck on your mission and please be careful."

She turned to leave as Kakashi headed their way. Sakura stopped in her tracks.

"Hello everyone, ready to go over today's mission?" He said.

"You're late as usual, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto pointed,

"Yeah I know but I'm only five minutes late this time." Kakashi said.

"That's true; you're usually much later than this." Sakura said.

"Well you know I really tried to be here on time today." Kakashi said.

"Then what about the other times you were an hour late?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi placed a hand behind his head. "Well today's mission is a little more important than the others. Plus I didn't have much time today to get up earlier."

"What, you're kidding me, right? On normal missions you're hours late, but akatsuki is more important?!" Naruto exclaimed.

"That's enough, Naruto. You can yell at him later but right now we have to focus on the battle plan." Shikamaru said.

"He's right, Naruto, you should listen carefully. I'll be waiting here when you get back." Sakura said.

"Oh you'll be here to congratulate me on my victory with ramen after?" Naruto asked.

Sakura's hand flew out and slammed into Naruto's right cheek and sent him into a nearby tree.

"Don't count on it!" She said as she stormed off.

"Well we're of to a pretty good start I guess." Kakashi said rubbing his head.

"Man this is such a drag. This is why I called everyone here so early. Anyway, let's go over the battle plan. Ino, Choji, Naruto, you three are going to go with Kakashi and lead Kakuzu away from Hidan. I'll take Hidan on alone near my family's farm." Shikamaru said.

Choji and Ino stared at Shikamaru speechless.

"Wait, Shikamaru, are you sure that's a good idea? I mean you guys had trouble with Hidan alone last time, right? Then why face him alone this time? If you do you could die!" Naruto said.

"Yeah, come on, Shikamaru, reconsider your plan." Ino said.

"We're supposed to fight them as a team." Choji said.

"I have thought this through, Ino. I've been up all night thinking and I've realized this is the only way to do this." Shikamaru said.

"But…" Ino trailed off.

"I think you guys should trust Shikamaru and follow his plan as ordered. If he says it'll work it will. I've been thinking this through too, and from what I understand, Kakuzu is stronger than Hidan. Hidan only has his ritual jutsu, and although we may not be able to kill him, there are other ways to finish him off." Kakashi said.

"Exactly and that's why you're all going to branch off with Kakashi and follow the plan, no exceptions, got it? This means you, Naruto. I don't want to see you trying to follow me." Shikamaru said.

Naruto looked down. "Yeah I got it, I won't follow, I promise."

"Good then let's head out."

Shikamaru leapt off with the others following closely behind.

'Don't worry, Asuma, I'll make sure we get them this time.' Kakashi thought. 'Shikamaru will take vengeance for you.'


	29. Chapter 29 : No mistake made twice

Hidan voiced his complaints loudly as he trudged through the forest with Kakuzu.

"Man I want to finish those leaf brats off as much as you do but why are we going to them again? This is such a pain in the ass. Can't we just let the others take care of then when they come for the kyuubi brat? I don't feel like walking all this way again." Hidan said.

"Because the leaf shinobi will track us endlessly regardless and besides, I'm sure it'll be the same brats from before with a few others. We can handle them easily. Just don't get too reckless this time. I won't be able to sew your head back on again if we get separated." Kakuzu said.

"Pssh, you're the one to talk, Kakuzu. You're the one with anger management issues. My partners actually lasted longer than a week." Hidan retorted.

"Don't get so cocky, this mission could very well be your last." Kakuzu said.

Hidan laughed. "I wish I could have that risk but I can't. No one's ever succeeded, not even you. What makes you think a few weaklings could?" Hidan asked.

"I'm just saying it because someone could outsmart your small brain someday." Kakuzu said.

"Right, like they ever could, dumbass. Don't forget although you have four hearts you _can_ still die. You've still got that to worry about and you're nothing special either." Hidan said.

Hidan stared at his partner for any comebacks but he walked in silence.

"What's the matter with you? Did I hurt your feelings, Kakuzu? You shouldn't pick fights you can't win, dumbass." Hidan stared at him. He growled in frustration. "Well aren't you going to at least answer me?!"

"It's not that I'm speechless, Hidan. I'm choosing not to play your childish game. You can at least do us both a favour by shutting up. I'm in no mood to put up with you right now." Kakuzu said.

"Hey screw you; I'm not in a good mood to walk around aimlessly all day like this so suck it up. You can vent your anger on those brats." Hidan said.

They walked silently for twenty minutes before Kakuzu stuck out his arm.

"Hey, Kakuzu, why did you stop me?" Hidan asked.

"We need to be careful. We're walking out in the open now." He said.

"So what do I care if a few people see us? We can easily kill them before they scream for help." Hidan said.

"As I said earlier, you shouldn't be so cocky. We have no idea who's around this area." Kakuzu said.

"Honestly, Kakuzu, do you think some puny ninja are going to stop us again his time? I don't think so."

Hidan walked ahead but Kakuzu stopped him again.

"Hey what's your problem? First you warn me of being cocky and now you won't let me walk ahead?" Hidan yelled.

"Keep your voice down, Hidan. Are you so thick headed you don't sense them coming?" Kakuzu asked.

"What are you talking about?" Hidan surveyed the area carefully. He smiled. "Hey, you're right, there is someone coming. SO those leaf brats finally caught up with us, eh?"

"You're so think you wouldn't' have noticed them until they were in front of you." Kakuzu said.

"I'll remind you you didn't do any better last time either. But considering I'm in a good mood now I'll forgive you this time."

Hidan took out his three bladed scythe and positioned himself.

"So are you going to try to find Asuma after so we can finish him off?" Hidan asked.

"The risk wouldn't' be worth it considering we don't' know if he's dead or alive. We can try if you really want the bounty." Kakuzu said.

"Heh I was only asking to see if you would actually go after him. I have no interest in money whatsoever. If you want to go after Asuma again you're on your own." Hidan said.

"Fine then we'll leave the village after this, get ready." Kakuzu said.

Back in the other end Kakashi joined Shikamaru at the front.

"Shikamaru, the enemy is up ahead. We should get into formation now." He said.

"Yeah you're right, there's no time to waste. Listen up everyone. It's time we get into formation now. Hidan and Kakuzu are up ahead." Shikamaru said.

All three nodded and jumped down into a large bush upon a hill with their enemy below.

'This is it, Shikamaru, there's no turning back. This time I'm going to take them down. Remain calm and remember what I learned from the last encounter.' Shikamaru thought to himself as he waited for the right time to strike.

"Don't think you can hide from us when you're this close. We know you're there so come out before we make you!" Hidan yelled.

'What? How can they now we're here already? Did they sense our presence beforehand?' Shikamaru thought.

"What should we do now, Shikamaru, they know we're here. Should we jump out now?" Naruto whispered.

"Stay here until I give the signal. We don't' want to rush in just yet." Shikamaru said.

"There's no use hiding in the bushes all day. If you're going to sit there all day then I'll make the first move."

Kakuzu detached his right hand and sprung it towards his unsuspecting enemies above. It smashed through the tree, narrowly missing the group.

"That was a warning shot. The next one will pierce through all of you." Kakuzu said.

"I think you should have hit them with it the first time, I would have." Hidan said.

"I will face my opponents face to face. I have no patience for one's who hide." Kakuzu said.

Shikamaru jumped down from the bush.

"You're right, there's no point hiding from someone who knows you're already there." He said.

"You ran away from us last time you little chicken. I told you to stay there so we could come back and finish our fight." Hidan said.

"Yeah well I don't listen to scum bags like you. Besides, fro the looks of it you two had other sudden arrangements to attend to." Shikamaru said.

"You little brat, do you think you can still talk to us like we're trash? Did you forget what happened last time?" Hidan said.

"No, and that's why I've come to end all of this now. You're jutsu didn't kill Asuma, either. He's still alive." Shikamaru said.

Hidan gritted his teeth. "Damnit, now I'm really pissed. My jutsu always works. He should have died!" Hidan said.

"That doesn't matter now, Hidan. The point is Asuma's out of commission for the time being." Kakuzu said.

"Are you stupid? Of course it matter's that he's still alive! I can't please the god Jashin if my ritual didn't work! It means I have to make a double sacrifice this time, and I think I'll start with this kid!" Hidan said.

"But you're not alone, you've brought others. Bring them out now." Kakuzu said.

"I don't care I'm not waiting. I'm going to get this over with now!" Hidan said.

"Ino, Choji, Naruto, now!" Shikamaru yelled as he held up his right hand.

Choji and Ino threw kunais and shurkines as Naruto used his multi shadow clone jutsu. Hidan blocked the weapons with his scythe but was quickly engulfed by Naruto's clones.

"Ha-ha, you think this puny technique is going to stop me?"

Hidan flailed his scythe wildly as he quickly disposed of the clones that disappeared in a cloud of smoke. When the dust settled and the smoke cleared Hidan stood up slowly and placed the weapon on his shoulders.

"It's going to take more than shadow clones to bring me down." Hidan said.

"I warned you not to be so reckless." Kakuzu said.

'Thankfully I planned for Hidan to rush in. Now we can go to faze two and attempt to separate them.' Shikamaru watched the two carefully.

"This can't be all of your team. You must have a jonin hiding somewhere. I don't think you would be foolish enough to make the same mistake twice." Kakuzu said.

Shikamaru smiled. "Maybe we do, and maybe we don't. I am young after all, you never know."

"Maybe this kid was stupid enough to. After all, he's foolish for thinking he'll live after running into us twice." Hidan raised his scythe. "What ever, I'm going ahead."

He inched forward but found himself unable to move.

"You gotta be kidding me; not this jutsu again! That's it kid; you're really dead this time. I'll enjoy slowly killing you!" Hidan yelled.

Kakuzu sprung both arms at the group who tried to defend Shikamaru but were easily pushed out of the way.

'He's so strong.' Naruto thought as he struggled to get up. He watched as Kakuzu's hand's darted towards Shikamaru.

Kakashi leaped from a nearby and used his lightning blade to sever the strings. Kakuzu's hands fell lifelessly to the ground.

"Eh, who the hell is this guy?" Hidan asked.

Kakuzu stared at him for a moment. "His name is Kakashi Hatake." He said.

"Kakashi Hatake, should I know him?" Hidan asked.

"He's also known widely as the copy ninja." Kakuzu said.

"The copy ninja…Oh yeah, I have heard of this guy! He's supposed to be some highly skilled ninja, right?" Hidan said.

"His father was Sakumo Hatake who committed suicide shortly after a mission during the war." Kakuzu said.

"Ha-ha, are you serious? How pathetic! He must have been the laughing stock of the country!" Hidan said.

"How is it your organization has records of my father?" Kakashi asked pulling out a kunai.

"Akatsuki keeps records of highly skilled shinobi such as your self. kyuubi's aren't the only ones we keep a track of. There is a side bounty on your head as well." Kakuzu said.

"Kakuzu do you think you can shut up about bounty's for awhile? I'm sick of hearing you talk about it all the time." Hidan said.

"Money is an important aspect in order for akatsuki to reach its goal. In other words, without missions or any bounty, akatsuki isn't possible." Kakuzu said.

"Yeah, yeah, I know about all that stuff I just don't care!" Hidan said.

"And that's why you're so small minded." Kakuzu said.

"What did you say, Kakuzu? Do you want me to kick your ass?" Hidan yelled.

Kakuzu reattached his arm. "Look I'll keep quiet about money for a little while if you promise to stop bickering." Kakuzu said.

"How about I'll shut up about your money issues if you let me take this kid by myself?" Hidan gestured to Shikamaru.

"Should I remind you again what happened last time we fought him?" Kakuzu warned.

"Of course I haven't forgotten again but I'll be more careful this time now that I know what this kid is capable of." Hidan said.

"I still think you'll get your head cut off again." Kakuzu said.

"Come on, we're partner's, aren't we? Give me a break. I promise the same thing won't happen twice. You'll have your bounty and I'll have another completed ritual that you won't have to stick around to watch." Hidan said.

"Should we attack now, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked.

"No we'll let them attack first. Just let them keep talking. We want them to want to fight on their own." Kakashi said.

Naruto nodded as he pulled out a kunai.

Kakuzu stared at Hidan for a moment.

"Please, Kakuzu-san?" Hidan pleaded.

"Fine but if you get yourself buried alive don't expect me come looking for you." Kakuzu said.

"I wouldn't want you to anyway. I'll dig myself out if I have to." Hidan said.


	30. Chapter 30: Shikamaru's ten step plan!

**A/N: Wow it's been a month since I've updated…a very good reason for that. One, I had to serve on jury duty in late November for 2 weeks as well as work the same night for the first week. Since then I've been working full time with mid shifts, meaning my whole day is spent at work with a few hours at home before bed so I haven't had much time to write nor had the initiative to lately being busy but I've written an extra long chapter this time, promise! So now I can finally move on with this story and finish it soon! Hope you guys have a fun Christmas and new year!**

"Good, now who should I attack first?" Kakuzu pondered.

"How about the kyuubi kid, you know, the one we need?" Hidan commented.

Kakuzu flung both hands towards Naruto's throat.

"Shikamaru, now! Naruto and the rest of you run!" Kakashi ordered as he pulled on some chains that lay hidden on the ground. They lashed out and wound tightly around Kakuzu's arms.

"So you laid them in the ground when I wasn't looking, I'm impressed." Kakuzu said.

"Good luck, Shikamaru." Kakashi said before leaping off.

"I won't allow you to escape that easily. Remember to keep your head in the game." Kakuzu said before chasing after Kakashi.

"I suppose that's funny jackass. I won't lose my head twice. Now, let's get started you little chicken. You ran away from us last time but your luck has run out." Hidan said.

"We'll see just who's luck it is." Shikamaru said.

"Don't think you can get cocky with me you leaf brat! I'll tear you in half!" Hidan ran furiously towards Shikamaru. He swung his scythe wildly but Shikamaru dodged the attacks.

"What's the matter, too scared to use your little shadow bind technique again?" Hidan laughed.

"Using that technique on you right away would be a pure waste of my chakra." Shikamaru said.

"If you think you're better than me I must have hit you harder than I thought!"

Hidan took another long swing at Shikamaru and missed again.

"Wow your partner's right, you're too stupid for your own good." Shikamaru said smiling.

"What did you say to me you bastard? If I'm so dumb then how could I have nearly killed your sensei?" Hidan laughed

"My guess is pure dumb luck." Shikamaru retorted.

Hidan growled angrily. "Why you little…I'm going to enjoy chopping you into little tiny pieces!"

He charged at Shikamaru like a ragging bull to a red cape.

"Die!" Hidan swung down with all his might allowing Shikamaru to narrowly miss the blades as they grazed his shirt.

"The next one will be at your head!" Hidan yelled triumphantly.

'He gloats as if he's already won, that's good. I just have to draw him a little further.'

Shikamaru began to throw kunai's at his ragging attacker, doing his best to keep him at bay.

'He's like a mad hornet now. If I don't come up with a quick plan he'll cut me down before we reach the farm.' He leapt high into the air throwing more kunai's.

"If this is a part of your great plan then this'll be over sooner than I thought!" Hidan yelled.

Shikamaru landed on a tree branch. 'Alright, it's time for my ten step plan; one!' He threw a paper bomb against a tree. It exploded as Hidan passed by.

"Damnit, a paper bomb! Those things are so annoying!" Hidan said as he stood waiting for the smoke to clear.

'Two!' Shikamaru ran from Hidan towards his family's farm.

"I'm not waiting for this damn smoke to clear while he gets off scott free!" Hidan leapt from the black cloud to a nearby branch. "What, he's running away again? Hey, get your ass back here! I'm not finished with you yet!" He yelled.

'I'm not running away because this time you're going to follow me.' Shikamaru thought.

"You little bastard, I wont' let you run with your tail between your legs again!"

Hidan recklessly followed Shikamaru, hungry for his blood.

Kakuzu shot his left hand towards Kakashi but caught the tree trunk instead.

'He's fast; he's almost caught up with me. I better hurry up with I'm going to join the others in one piece.' Kakashi thought as he narrowly dodged Kakuzu's right hand.

"I know what you're trying to do. I won't play into your hands like Hidan." Kakuzu said reattaching both hands.

'Don't worry, I don't expect you to." Kakashi thought.

He watched a shuriken pass by him and slice Kakuzu across the cheek. He veered off to the right as more shurikens were fired forcing Kakuzu to duck down onto a branch.

"I see, so that's how it is." He said stepping back. "If you think I'm foolish enough to rush into a trap you're gravely mistaken."

Kakashi lifted his headband up revealing his sharingan eye.

"Don't think I'll be intimidated by your eye, Kakashi. I've heard all about your mangekyou sharingan from Deidara." Kakuzu said.

"Oh really, then I can only imagine how upset he must have been to learn the resurrection of his prize." Kakashi said.

"Deidara was just as careless as Hidan. Gaara got lucky. If it was me who took care of him he would have stayed dead. How sad it took the help of an old woman for your team to take down Sasori." Kakuzu said.

Suddenly Kasashi's eyes widened in shock. "Look out, Ino, Choji!" He yelled but they were too slow to react to his warnings as Kakuzu's hands burst from the ground and grabbed them by the neck.

"Ugh, Ino…" Choji coughed as he desperately tried to free himself from Kakuzu's grip.

'I better save up my chakra." Kakashi thought darting forward as he pulled out a kunai. "I can't keep wasting my lightning blade on him.'

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto bellowed as he ran forward.

"No, Naruto, stay back! I'll handle him!" Kakashi yelled.

"What makes you think you alone can stop me?" Kakuzu asked.

"I may not be able to defeat you by myself but I'll try!" Kakashi said taking a swing at Kakuzu who jumped back.

"It's going to take more than that for me to release them." Kakuzu said.

"I know that's why I'm not doing this alone." Kakashi said.

Kakuzu gazed back to see Kurenai standing behind him.

"I'm going to make you pay for what you did to Asuma!" She yelled as she formed her hand seals. Below Kakuzu's feet sprouted a medium sized tree. Its branches constricted Kakuzu tightly against the tree. Kurenai leaned out from within the tree with a kunai in hand.

"If this genjutsu didn't work on Itachi then why expect it to work on me?" Kakuzu asked.

Kurenai smiled. "That's just it, I don't' expect it to."

The illusion disappeared before Kurenai could be trapped within her genjutsu again.

"Water style: twin water dragon jutsu!" Kakashi called out as his summoned dragons appeared off to the west and hit Kakuzu with full force. The impact released Ino and Choji from his deadly grip. They landed on their knee's gasping for air.

"I thought of using just one dragon to help conserve my chakra but I really didn't want to take my chances." Kakashi said walking up to Kurenai. "Thanks for the help. I see Tsunade finally allowed you to come." Kakashi said.

"Yes it was very difficult to convince her to let me. Asuma didn't want me to come but I couldn't just stand around and do nothing." Kurenai replied.

"Yeah well you should take cover. I promised Tsunade you would have minimal involvement." Kakashi said.

Kurenai nodded. I will, just be careful." She darted off for higher ground.

Kakuzu slowly stood up. "I thought you said you would try fighting me alone?"

"I did, but I never said I would do it with help along the way. I won't be taken down easily." Kakashi said throwing a paper bomb.

Kakuzu leapt above the explosion and drew his sword as Kakashi pulled out a second kunai to block his strike.

"So even the great Kakashi still needs help, and after all these years you still can't fight alone without the risk of someone dyeing for you." Kakuzu said.

"What are talking about?" Kakashi asked perplexed as he firmly held Kakuzu's sword above his shoulder.

"I thought a memory like that was something you couldn't forget." Kakuzu said.

Kakashi stared at his attacker, determined not to lose focus.

"Don't you remember, Kakasih? A clumsy, weak little shinobi named Obito Uchiha, your best friend." Kakuzu said.

"What?" Kakashi's broken concentration allowed Kakuzu to take a swing at him. His eyes widened as Kakuzu's blade sliced across his chest as he jumped back. He grunted in pain as he placed his hand over his blood stained vest.

'Damnit, I allowed myself to lose focus. He said that to throw me off on purpose.' He thought as he anticipated Kakuzu's next move.

"In fact, he's still the same clumsy, clueless foolish ninja today." Kakuzu said.

"What are you saying, that's there a chance he survived somehow? That's impossible!" Kakashi said.

"Maybe, and maybe not, perhaps it is you who is the clueless one this time." Kakuzu said charging.

His sharingan allowed him to witness Kakuzu's attacks as if they were in slow motion. He managed to get in a slice at Kakuzu's cheek. Kakuzu jumped back and examined the small graze.

'I'll have to come up with a plan fast if I'm going to check up on Shikamaru. Either we need to find an advantage or this is going to be the last battle for everyone.' Kakashi held up his kunai, ready for another bout.

"Ok guys, this is your time to shine, especially you, Naruto. Get ready." Kakashi ordered.

The group braced themselves, ready to move on command.

Hidan hunted Shikamaru like a wild animal, his crazed laugh echoing through the forest.

"Is this your ultimate plan? Run until you come across help? There's no one, trust me! Kakuzu and I made sure of that!" Hidan said laughing.

"I would never intentionally run from scumbag like you." Shikamaru said calmly as he pushed on through the trees.

"Then turn around and face me like a true man!" Hidan yelled.

"Ok I will soon enough." Shikamaru said.

Shikamaru noted a broken branch to his left. "We're almost there, just a little further.' He though.

Hidan growled. "I'm sick of all this endless running!" He threw his scythe towards Shikamaru who dodged in time to see the branch he was just on get taken out.

"Stop running you bastard, I want to finish you off now so I can please lord Jashin!" He roared.

Shikamaru pulled out a string of exploding tags attacked to a kunai.

"Three!" He threw the kunai two trees ahead of Hidan who had to drop down to avoid the massive ball of flame.

'Perfect.' Shikamaru thought as he stopped and pulled on a thin black wire. "Four."

The ground beneath Hidan exploded.

"Damnit, what's with all these explosions? This is really pissing me off. I can't wait to watch you a slow, painful death." Hidan yelled as he leaped into the middle of a small clearing. "So now you're going to hide? You coward, get your ass out here!"

Suddenly a kunai with a wire attached passed beside Hidan into the trunk of a tree. Hidan looked up to see another dart towards him. He took cover upon a high tree trunk, desperate to find his prey. He gazed around at the wires being strung like lights on a Christmas tree.

'What's he trying to do with all these wires?' Hidan thought as six more kunai with wired came his way.

He jumped back for an easy dodge. "If you're trying to corner me with wires it won't work! This forest is too big for you to pull this off!" He bellowed.

Suddenly three more kunai's shot up beneath him, forcing him to jump back down into the clearing. "Just where the hell are you?" He asked angrily.

"Five!" Shikamaru's voice echoed as Kunai's sprung from all directions.

Hidan watched the weapons fly past him and land against tree trunks. The last kunai thrown grazed his cheek as it landed on the ground beside him.

"What's the point of you throwing weapons if you're aiming to miss? The last guy that tried that on me got himself killed!"

"Six!" Sihkamaru said emerging from the shadows with Asuma's blades in hand, quickly grabbing the kunai from the ground.

Hidan swung his scythe to block the attack. "Now that's more like it. I was beginning to think you would run off back to your friends. I've seen this plan before and it's not going to work, dumbass." Hidan said pushing Shikamaru back.

"You think you know my plan but you don't." Shikamaru said stepping back.

"Oh, really, like I don't' know you plan to use these paper bombs to blow me sky high?" Hidan said.

Shikamaru grinned. "That's only half of it. I'll only need ten steps to beat you and I have four more to go."

"Well your numbers are about to be cut short!"

Hidan's scythe forced Shikamaru into the tree behind him. "Now die!" He said swinging his scythe.

Shikamaru could only hold the kunai with his blades up in defense as the scythe easily knocked the weapons out of his hands as the blades scraped against his cheeks.

Hidan laughed hysterically. "Ha, now you're screwed!"

"Oh no!" Shikamaru cried as Hidan swung his oversized weapon back and hit him with its blunt side.

Shikamaru tumbled back into a bush as the kunai and blades landed in the ground a few feet in front of him.

"You see, I told you your plan wouldn't work, didn't I?" Hidan laughed as he slowly approached Shikamaru. "And now you've got nothing to defend yourself with and I have your blood. Now I can finally please lord Jashin.

Shikamaru ran his fingers of the smeared blood on his right cheek.

"I told you I'd get you back for running away." Hidan laughed as his appearance changed to resemble the outline of a skeleton. He smiled. "I'll have fun slowly killing you." He pulled out a kunai with an explosive tag and made a long cut on his hand and smeared it over the ground to create his ritual circle.

"I can't kill you yet if I don't' have the circle. This will be fun. I'm going to enjoy blowing you up." He laughed as he buried the kunai into the ground in front of Shikamaru. The tag ignited immediately. "Here we go!" Hidan yelled as he watched the tag quickly burn to the end.

The explosion shook the ground like an earth quake. Shikamaru cried out in pain as he was forced back into an old tree stump. He hugged himself tightly.

"Ha-ha, lord Jashin will be pleased with this sacrifice! Don't worry, you don't' have long to live. Because I'm still in this circle I can punish you more if I wish." Hidan laughed loudly. "I probably should! After all, I don't' get to make sacrifices everyday. I hope that tag I threw at you wont' kill you too quickly."

He held his scythe to his throat. Shikamaru looked up in horror as he watched Hidan slowly slice his throat. Blood immediately began to spurt from his mouth as he began to choke. He held his hands to his throat, desperate to breath.

"It's useless; you'll suffocate as you bleed!"

Hidan watched in great pleasure as Shikamaru slowly fell to the ground in a pool of his own blood. He smiled and gazed at the sky.

"There, I did as promised, lord Jashin. Well I should stop wasting time here. Kakuzu's probably done already. I'll just tell him I took my slow sweet time." Hidan turned around and started back to join his partner, avoiding all the wires. "Man why did the dumbass bother putting up all these wires if he never needed them? What a pain in the ass."

Suddenly a thin black wire drew up beneath the dirt. Hidan watched it lead into the bush as he heard a snap.

"What the hell?" He turned around to see six kunai's fly towards him. He ducked in time to see them cut several wires that sprung up around him. He leapt high into the air to avoid constricting death below as a kunai wit an explosive tag attached flew into a tree beside him, pushing him more wires behind him.

"Damnit." He said as the wires wrapped themselves around him. "What the hell is going on?" Hidan growled as he tried to break free. He fell onto more wires below before crashing onto the ground. "Damnit, it's useless to break free, but how did this happen?" He looked over at Shikamaru who was on his knees. "You bastard, you did this on purpose! You're supposed to be dead!" He growled.

"Wrong again, as usual." Shikamaru said slowly standing up.

"But I cut your cheek, I saw it!" Hidan yelled.

"No you thought you cut my cheek. I knew the only way to stop you was to fool you at your own game. Your partner's right, you're too cocky." Shikamaru said.

"Why don't' you come here and say that again!" Hidan yelled.

"You assume that your jutsu will always work. You have no strategy. You trap your opponents and kill them. My moves may be repetitive but I have structure to them." Shikamaru said.

"Why you little…" Hidan's voice trailed off as he tried to hop onto his feet.

"It's no use to try to get up either." Shikamaru said.

"Damnit, that jutsu again." Hidan said.

"I intended for the weapons to drop near the circle from the start. And the blood I used was your own. The only kunai that grazed you was the one I grabbed when I charged at you. I missed on purpose to make you think you had the advantage. I allowed your scythe to collect the blood that I smeared on my cheek before it struck so you would think it was mine. You never cut me. The exploding tag was the seventh step, and the fall onto the wires was the eighth." Shikamaru said calmly.

"I'm going to kick your ass!" Hidan yelled.

"Shut up. I've had enough of you. It's time to finish you off."

Shikamaru threw out ten exploding tags to surround Hidan. The explosion weakened the ground below him and caved in, ripping and burying the body parts deep underground leaving only his head exposed.

"That was step nine and I dug this hole before the mission. This was over from the start." He said holding five exploding tags. "This is the tenth step."

"Ha, don't make me laugh dumbass. You can't kill me; I'll find a way out even if it's with just my head! I'll dig myself out, find you and bite your head off!" Hidan yelled.

"Personally I'm not worried nor do I care. You've been a major drag and you nearly killed my sensei. You'll never get out of here. This is the final step, and this is for what you did to Asuma."

Shikamaru threw the remaining tags at Hidan. They exploded, burying his head into a freshly dug grave that would incase him forever, and with it, ending the bittersweet vengeance. Shikamaru let out a deep sigh as what felt to be the weight of the world lifting off his shoulders. He allowed himself a moments rest and then ran off to join the rest of his comrades.


	31. Chapter 31: Kakuzu's dangerous hearts

**A/N: Sorry it took soooo long to add another chapter guys! Got a little busy the past couple of weeks with a paper for school and other assignments but I've got another full chapter up! Sorry it's taking FOREVER to finish this...honestly it doesn't take me this long to write a story as it does to read it lol. So, without further delay, here's another chapter!**

Naruto took a step forward but Kakashi held out his arm in protest.

"No, Naruto, not yet. We'll have to wait for him to make his move this time." He ordered.

Naruto gritted his teeth.

"I know, but I haven't figured out a way to best him." Kakashi said.

"But I can try and use my new technique!" Naruto protested.

"No there's no guarantee that your technique will work. We have to wait for the right opportunity for you to strike." Kakashi watched Naruto who had his eyes on Kakuzu. "I trust that you can master the technique but wait for my signal. Just be patient for a little longer." He said.

Kakuzu stared at his enemies. "So you plan for me to make the first move, Kakashi? It will be a disadvantage for you but so be it."

He detached his human masked heart. It transformed into a beast like shape on the ground.

"What is that?" Ino asked.

"I don't know but watch it carefully." Kakashi said.

Suddenly Kakuzu and his masked beast charged at the group. Naruto charged forward when the masked beast disappeared. He stopped in his tracks as he desperately searched for it.

"Naruto it's above you!" Ino yelled.

Naruto gazed up to see the beast rocketing down towards him. He moved out of the way, barely avoiding the beasts attack.

"Naruto, Kakuzu's headed your way!" Choji yelled.

Naruto looked behind him as Kakuzu took a swing at him with his sword. He raised his arms in defense and closed his eyes expecting the worst. Instead he heard a loud clang and the scraping of metal. He slowly opened his eyes as he lowered his arms to see Kakashi holding up the blade with his kunai's.

"K-Kakashi-sensei…" He stuttered.

"Choji, Ino, join Naruto and get back! I'll try to hold off Kakuzu and the monster!"

Choji and Ino nodded as they joined Naruto and pulled back several feet away.

"Do you really think you can hold off the both of us when you can barely fend off me?" Kakuzu said.

Kakashi grunted. "I think I can manage the both of you. I don't plan on fighting you two without their help. I won't allow your organization to carry on with your ominous plans any further."

"Even if you eliminate half of our members I can guarantee you won't defeat our leader. He has the power to diminish your petty village to rubble." Kakuzu said.

"Well we'll just have to see who'll be the last man standing." Kakashi said.

"I guarantee it won't be you." Kakuzu said as his beast charged Kakashi with a fire attack.

Kakashi quickly glanced over his shoulder and leapt high into the air, the flames licking at his back side.

'So if this one can use fire jutsu's, then what is Kakuzu's element? Surely he must have one. Also, if he can release these masked beasts by will, do they all use the same elements or do they have their own?' He thought. He tried to analyze the masked beast with his sharingan. 'Well this one definitely has chakra, but how much? I guess I'll find out soon.'

Kakashi charged the two alone, dodging their attacks amidst the fire and dust.

"You can't dodge our attack forever, Kakashi Hatake." Kakuzu said flailing his arms high above his beast's flames and knocked the air born ninja into its fiery depths.

"Kakashi-sensei!" The ninja trio cried together.

In their anger and confusion they charged the pair together.

"You'll pay you bastards!" Naruto yelled as he formed twenty shadow clones while Ino and Choji threw kunai's and shuriken's.

"Not good enough to block my attacks." Kakuzu said as he threw all three ninja back onto the ground with his hands.

"No but this is!" Kakashi yelled as he leapt from a boulder and pulled on two black strings.

Each set of wires secretly laid upon the ground entangled themselves around Kakuzu and his beast separately. Kakashi summoned a fire jutsu to follow along the wires.

Fortunately Kakuzu's monster managed to use its fire jutsu to force Kakashi to advert the flames.

"That wasn't a very clever plan." Kakuzu said.

Suddenly Kakashi's right hand plunged through Kakuzu like a blade, his lightning blade engulfing the gaping hole in his chest while a second Kakashi did the same with the masked beast.

"It's over." He said as he let Kakuzu's corpse hit the ground lifelessly.

"Alright, Kakashi-sensei you did it!" Naruto cheered.

"Yes that was a nice maneuver using your shadow clones like that." Choji said.

"Yeah but what about the other masks on his back? He was able to use one, so what do the other two mean?" Ino asked.

"Who cares what it means Kakuzu's dead!" Naruto said.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Naruto; we still have to confirm the kill." Kakashi said.

"We do?" Naruto asked.

"You always should confirm your kills regardless of the situation. What good does it do to assume so? For all you know they could still be alive." Choji explained.

"I guess so, I just never thought of it that way." Naruto said.

"All shinobi know this." Ino added.

Kakashi ran over to Kakuzu's body and kneeled down to check the pulse along the neck.

'Hmm, there's no pulse but why do I have a funny feeling about all this?' Kakashi thought.

"Well is he dead, Kakashi-sensei?" Choji asked.

"Yes, but…" Kakashi trailed off.

"But what, sensei?" Ino asked.

"I've got a funny feeling. Something doesn't quite make sense." Kakashi said.

Suddenly Kakuzu's body jerked as if he had been shocked by electricity.

"Get back!" Kakashi warned as all four leapt away from the pulsing corpse.

"What's going on? It's almost as if he's come back to life!" Ino cried.

"What about the other body, Choji? Is it moving at all?" Kakashi asked.

Choji glanced over at the fallen beast. "No it's not moving. In fact, it's liquefying."

"What?" Ino asked as they all glanced at the monster.

Choji was right. The body was being reduced to black ooze at a rapid pace. Kakashi looked back at Kakuzu who now lay motionless. He noticed a certain light returned to his eyes. Within a few minutes he slowly began to pull himself up.

"What?!" Kakashi exclaimed.

"But that's impossible….I saw Kakashi-sensei kill him." Naruto said.

"Choji and Ino stared on, speechless at the unnatural sight.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei, you did kill him, didn't you?" Naruto asked.

Suddenly Kakashi remembered Kakuzu's monster died when the mask was destroyed.

"The mask, it must have something to do with the masks on his back!" Kakashi said.

"That was a nice stunt you pulled." Kakuzu said standing up, swaying slightly. "You've managed to destroy two of my four hearts at once. I haven't had that happen in a long time."

"Did he just say two out of his four hearts?!" Ino asked.

"Yeah I think he did, Ino." Choji said.

'He had four hearts? How is that possible?' Kakashi thought.

"But that's impossible! How can anyone have four hearts?" Naruto asked.

"It's simple. I take the hearts of my enemies and with it their affinity to any element they have mastered." Kakuzu said.

"Just how old is this guy?" Naruto asked.

"Such a foolish child for one who houses the nine tailed fox. I've been around long before you even existed. The last person I remember who destroyed one of my hearts was the first hokage." Kakuzu said.

"What, the first Hokage?" Kakashi said.

"Just how old is he?" Ino asked.

"Fortunately for me I'll be replenishing the hearts shortly." Kakuzu said.

"I don't' think so." Kakashi said.

Kakuzu charged towards Kakashi but dodge off to the side. Kakashi turned around and stared in horror.

'Oh no, he's after Naruto!' "Ino, Choji, Naruto, move he's coming for you!" Kakashi yelled but it was too late.

Kakuzu quickly reached the three and took swung out his sword and aimed for Choji and Ino's head.

Kakashi followed, desperate to somehow slow Kakuzu down. 'There's no way to make it in time!' He thought.

Ino and Choji closed their eyes at the approaching blade, awaiting its bloody slice as Kakashi stopped in his tracks, wide eyed. Kakuzu held his shaking blade centimeters from Ino's neck.

"Impossible. How did you manage to get here so quickly?" Kakuzu asked.

Kakashi looked on as Choji and Ino slowly opened their eyes.

"I'm glad to see you make it just in time, Shikamaru. You saved me using my mangekyou sharingan." Kakashi said.

"I'm glad I could make it in time to help, Kakashi-sensei." Shikamaru said.

"Naruto, Choji and Ino turned to gaze at their savior.

"So, I take it Hidan's dead, right Shikamaru?" Kakashi said.

"Yeah, I made sure to dig a hole he'll never get out of. Let's just say he only has his head to rely on now." Shikamaru said.

"I knew Hidan would be defeated by this kid. He was just too reckless. Oh well, I prefer to work alone anyway." Kakuzu said.

"So did I miss much?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yeah you missed Kakashi-sensei taking out the masked monster and Kakuzu!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Masked monster?" Shikamaru asked turning to Kakashi.

"The masks represent his hearts. He used the human looking one to create a beast but I took out it and Kakuzu's heart." Kakashi said.

"So those masks represent his heart and you took out two of them, then he must have two left." Shikamaru said.

"Yeah." Kakashi said.

"So what's the game plan?" Shikamaru asked.

"I'm not sure yet. I'm waiting for him to make the next move." Kakashi said.

"I see." Shikamaru said.

"I better not waste anymore time with these brats." Kakuzu said releasing another one of this hearts into a monster.

"What's he doing?" Shikamaru asked appalled.

"He's releasing another one of his hearts. But why would he do that with only two left? He's leaving himself vulnerable." Kakashi said.

"I won't allow you to defeat this one so easily." Kakuzu said.

"Should we try the same strategy, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked.

"No it wont' work the same way twice." Kakashi said.

"Look out!" Shikamaru yelled as the masked beast fired an enormous ball of lightning at them.

They all managed to dodge it with minor cuts from the flying debris from the ground. The monster quickly appeared behind Naruto, Ino and Choji and used another lightning blast to smash them into the ground.

"Are you guys alright?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yeah, I think so." Ino said slowly getting up.

"I think that attack was stronger than the last monsters." Choji said slowly standing up.

"Yeah I think you're right." Naruto said.

The beast attacked again but the three were ready and ran off to safety. Kakuzu charged Kakashi and Shikamaru with his sword. Both leaf shinobi blocked the long blade with kunai's.

'Man he's so strong, I don't' know how Kakashi was able to fend him off on his own. I hope I have enough strength to see this battle through.' Shikamaru thought.

"Are you doing alright, Shikamaru?" Kakashi asked.

"Yeah." He grunted. "I'm just a little drained from the last battle but I should be fine."

Kakuzu lifted his free hand and knocked Shikamaru back with a wind attack.

Shikamaru tumbled back in a cloud of dust.

"Shikamaru!" Kakashi yelled.

Kakuzu lifted his blade and swung at Kakashi who jumped back. Suddenly the masked beast turned to Shikamaru and spat out a lightning ball. Kakashi ran towards Shikamaru. He grabbed him as they became engulfed in white light before the ball exploded.

Naruto, Choji and Ino stared in horror as they waited for the dust from the blast to settle.


	32. Chapter 32: Shikamaru to the rescue!

Naruto took a step forward but Kakashi held out an arm in protest.

"No, Naruto, not yet, we'll have to wait for him to make his move this time." He ordered.

Naruto gritted his teeth.

"I know, but I haven't figured out a way to beat him yet." Kakashi said.

"But I can try and use my new technique!" Naruto protested.

"No, there's no guarantee that your technique will work. We have to wait for the right opportunity for you to strike." Kakashi watched Naruto who focused on Kakuzu. "I trust you can master the technique but wait for my signal. Just be patient for a little longer."

Kakuzu stared at his enemies. "So you plan for me to make he first move, Kakashi? It will be a disadvantage for you but so be it."

He detached his human mask heart. It formed into a black beast.

"What is that?" Ino asked.

"I don't know but watch it carefully." Kakashi said.

Suddenly Kakuzu and his masked beast charged at the group. Naruto lunged forward but the masked beast disappeared. He stopped in his tracks as he desperately searched for it.

"It's above you, Naruto!" Ino yelled.

Naruto gazed up to see the beast rocketing down on him. He had just enough time to avoid it.

"Naruto, Kakuzu's headed your way!" Choji yelled.

Naruto looked behind him as Kakuzu took a swing at him with his sword. HE raised his arms and closed his eyes, expecting the worst. Instead he heard a loud clang and the scraping of metal. He lowered his arms to see Kakashi holding up the blade with his kunais.

"Ka…Kakashi-sensei…" He stuttered.

"Choji, Ino, join Naruto and get back! I'll try to hold off Kakuzu and the monster!" Kakashi ordered.

Choji and Ino nodded as they sprinted to Naruto's side to pull him back.

"Do you really think you can hold off the both of us when you can barely fend off me?" Kakuzu said.

Kakashi grunted. "I think I can manage the both of you. I don't plan on fighting you two alone. I won't allow your organization to carry on with your ominous plans any further."

"Even if you eliminate half of our members, I can guarantee you won't defeat our leader. He has the power to diminish your petty village to rubble." Kakuzu said.

"Well we'll just have to see who'll be the last man standing." Kakashi said.

"I guarantee it wont' be you." Kakuzu said as his beast charged at Kakashi with a fire attack.

Kakashi quickly glanced over his shoulder and leapt high into the air to avoid the flames that licked at his back side.

'So if this one can use fire jutsu, then what is Kakuzu's element? Surely he must have one. Also, if he can release these masked things at will, do they all use the same element or have their own?' He thought as he tried to analyze the masked beast with his sharingan. 'Well this thing definitely has chakra, but how much? I guess I'll have to continue fighting to find out.'

Kakashi charged the two alone; dodging their attacks admits the fire and dust.

"You can't dodge our attacks forever, Kakashi Hatake." Kakuzu said flailing his arms high above his beast's flames, sending the masked ninja into its fiery depths.

"Kakashi-sensei!" The ninja trio cried together. In their anger and confusion they charge the pair together.

"You'll pay you bastards!" Naruto yelled as he formed twenty shadow clones while Ino and Choji threw kunais and shurikens.

"You're petty attempts are not enough to stop my attacks." Kakuzu said as he threw all three ninja back onto the ground with his hands and flames.

"No but this is!" Kakashi yelled as he leapt out behind a boulder and pulled on a handful of black wires.

Each set of wires entangled themselves around the two separately. Kakashi summoned a fire jutsu to follow along the wires. Fortunately Kakuzu's monster managed to use its fire jutsu to force Kakashi to advert the flames.

"That wasn't a very clever plan." Kakuzu said.

Suddenly Kakashi's right hand plunged through Kakuzu like a blade from behind, his lightning engulfing the gaping hole in the left side of his chest while a third Kakashi did the same with the masked beast.

"It's over." He said as he let Kakuzu's corpse hit the ground lifelessly.

"Alright, Kakashi-sensei you did it!" Naruto cheered.

"Yes that was a nice maneuver using your shadow clones like that." Choji said.

"Yeah but what about the other masks on his back? He was able to use one, so what do the other two mean?" Ino asked.

"Who cares what it means Kakuzu's dead!" Naruto said.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Naruto; we still have to confirm the kill." Kakashi said.

"We do?" Naruto asked.

"You always should confirm your kills regardless of the situation. What good does it do to assume so? For all you know they could still be alive." Choji explained.

"I guess so, I just never thought of it that way." Naruto said.

"All shinobi know this." Ino said.

Kakashi kneeled down to check Kakuzu's pulse along the neck.

'Hmm, there's no pulse but why do I have a funny feeling about this?' Kakashi thought.

"Is he dead, Kakashi-sensei?" Choji asked.

"Yeah, but…" Kakashi trailed off.

"But what, sensei? Ino asked.

"I've got a funny feeling about all this." Kakashi asked.

Suddenly Kakuzu's body jerked as if a bolt of electricity surged through him.

"Get back!" Kakashi warned as all four leapt away from the body.

"What's going on? It's almost as if he's come back t life!" Ino cried.

"What about the other body, Choji? Is it moving at all?" Kakashi asked.

Choji looked over at the fallen beast. "No it's not moving. In fact, it's liquefying."

"What?" Ino asked as they all glanced at the body.

Choji was right. The body was turning to liquid at a rapid pace. Kakashi looked back at Kakuzu who now lay motionless seemed to have a light returned to his eyes. Within a few minutes he slowly began to pull himself up off the ground.

"What?" Kakashi exclaimed.

"But that's impossible…I saw Kakashi kill him." Naruto said.

Choji and Ino stared on speechless at the unnatural sight.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei, you did kill him, didn't you?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah, I know I did. I felt my hand pierce his heart. He should have died. How is he still alive?"

Suddenly Kakashi remembered the monster with the mask and how it died when it was destroyed.

"The mask on the beast must have something to do with the masks on his back!" Kakashi said.

"That was a nice stunt you pulled." Kakuzu said standing up, swaying slightly. "You managed to destroy two of my four hearts at once. I haven't had that happen in a long time." 

"Did he just say two of his four hearts?" Ino asked.

"Yeah I think he did, Ino." Choji said.

'He had four hearts? How is that possible?' Kakashi thought.

"But that's impossible! How can anyone have four hearts?" Naruto asked.

"It's simple. I take the hearts of my enemies and with it any affinity to elements they have." Kakuzu said.

"Just how old is this guy?" Naruto asked.

"You're such a foolish child for one who houses the nine tailed fox. I've been around longer before you even existed. The last person I remember destroying one of my hearts was the first hokage." Kakuzu said.

"What, the first hokage?" Kakashi said.

"Fortunately for me, I'll be replenishing the destroyed hearts shortly." Kakuzu said.

"I don't think so." Kakashi said.

Kakuzu charged towards Kakashi but dodged off to the side. Kakashi turned around and stared in horror. 'Oh no, he's after Naruto!'

"Ino, Choji, Naruto, move! He's coming for you!" Kakashi yelled but it was too late.

Kakuzu quickly reached the three and had begun to swing at Choji, Ino, and Naruto's head.

Kakashi followed, desperate to somehow slow Kakuzu down. 'There's no way to make it in time!' He thought.

Ino, Choji and Naruto closed their eyes at the approaching blade as Kakashi stopped in his tracks.

Kakuzu held his shaking blade centimeters from their necks.

"Impossible. How did you manage to get here so quickly?" Kakuzu asked.

Kakashi looked on as Choji and Ino slowly opened their eyes.

"I'm glad to see you made it just in time, Shikamaru. You saved me from using my mangekyou sharingan." Kakashi said.

"I'm glad I could make it in time to help, Kakashi-sensei." Shikamaru said as he concentrated on his prey caught in his shadow.

Naruto, Choji, and Ino turned to gaze at their savior.

"So, I take it Hidan's dead, right, Shikamaru?" Kakashi said.

"Yeah, I made sure to dig a hole he'll never get out of. Let's just say he only has his head to rely on." Shikamaru said.

"I know Hidan would be defeated by this kid. He was just too reckless. Oh well, I prefer to work alone anyway." Kakuzu said.

"So did I miss much?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yeah you missed Kakashi-sensei taking out the masked monster and one of Kakuzu's hearts!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Masked monster?" Shikamaru asked.

"The masks represent his hearts. He used the human looking one to create a beast but I took out both it and one of Kakuzu's hearts, which are represented by the masks on his back." Kakashi said.

"So then that means that he has only two hearts left then." Shikamaru said.

"Yes." Kakashi said nodding.

"So what's the game plan?" Shikamaru asked.

"I'm not sure yet. I'm waiting for him to make the next move." Kakashi said.

"I see." Shikamaru said.

"I better not waste anymore time with these brats." Kakuzu said using most of his strength to struggle to release another masked beast.

"What is he doing?" Shikamaru asked appalled, struggling to keep his hold with his diminishing chakra.

"He's releasing another one of his hearts. But why would he do that with two left? He's leaving himself vulnerable." Kakashi said.

"I won't allow you to defeat this one so easily." Kakuzu said.

"Should we try the same strategy, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked.

"No it wont' work the same way twice." Kakashi said.

"Look out!" Shikamaru yelled as the formed masked beast fired an enormous ball of lightning at them.

They all managed to dodge it with minor cuts from the flying debris from the ground. The monster quickly appeared behind Naruto, Ino, and Choji and used another lightning blast to smash them into the ground.

**A/N: Ok so I've kept you guys waiting a long time, haven't I? I went on vacation for 2 weeks back in May and have not been working too much, just recently for eight hours or a bit on the weekends for the past half a month for baseball tournaments. (Anyone that still plays or has will know all about the most of the day spent to weekends, eh?) I just got bored with this fight scene because I didn't know how long I wanted it to be, nor was I sure what to add to end it but I do now! So because I've kept you waiting (and I know what a drag it can be for a long awaited anticipation), I will end this chapter here and add another along with it today, just like I've been talking about for like ever! So, here's another one! Again, sorry for making you guys wait for several months for this! Enjoy! Will try to update another soon, honestly! I've known what I wanted to do after this battle, just didn't know how to end this one so there you go guys! Next one will be up TODAY as PROMISED! **


	33. Chapter 33: A bitter sweet victory

"Are you guys alright?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yeah I think so." Ino said slowly getting up.

"I think that attack was stronger than the last monsters." Choji said as he slowly stood up.

"Yeah I think you're right." Naruto said.

"Alright, I'm going to help Kakashi out. You guys can handle this thing for now, right?" Shikamaru asked.

The three nodded as Shikamaru leapt off to assist Kakashi.

The beast attacked again but the four were ready and ran off to safety. Kakuzu charged Kakashi and Shikamaru with his sword. Both leaf shinobi blocked the long blade with kunais.

'Man he's so strong. I don't know Kakashi was able to fend him off on his own. I hope I have enough strength to se this battle through.' Shikamaru thought.

"Are you doing alright, Shikamaru?" Kakashi asked.

"Yeah." He grunted. "I'm just a little drained from the last battle but I should be fine."

Kakuzu lifted his free hand and knocked Shikamaru back with a wind attack. Shikamaru tumbled back in a cloud of dust.

"Shikamaru!" Kakashi yelled.

Kakuzu lifted his blade and swung at Kakashi who jumped back. Suddenly the masked beast turned its attention to Shikamaru and spat out a lightning ball. Kakashi ran towards Shikamaru. He grabbed as they became engulfed in white light before the ball exploded.

Ino, Choji, and Naruto stared in horror and watched for the dust to settle. They searched through the hazy smoke for their comrades but they were nowhere to be found.

"You don't think they…?" Ino began.

"No, don't even think that. Kakashi-sensei would never be taken down that easily." Naruto said.

Suddenly the monster spat out another large lightning ball at the three shinobi.

"Separate!" Naruto yelled as the three took off in separate directions.

"Ugh, where could Kakashi-sensei and Shikamaru be?" Naruto said to himself.

Kakuzu burst through the dust and sent Naruto sailing through a nearby tree. Before he could recover, Kakuzu was in front of him again and grabbed him by the throat.

"I know your sensei is still alive, young one. It's only a matter of time before he comes to your aid. If he doesn't, I'll have one less shinobi to worry about." Kakuzu said.

Naruto struggled for air. "Ugh, Kakashi-sensei…don't come."

Kakashi burst from the ground shortly after and cut off Kakuzu's arm.

"Just what I expected from you, Kakashi." Kakuzu said.

"I'm sorry for being late, Naruto, are you alright?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto rubbed his throat painfully. "I'm fine, just some minor pain.

"Good. Don't worry about Shikamaru, he's fine, he just-ugh!"

Naruto's eyes widened in horror as Kakuzu's blade plunged into the right side of Kakashi's chest. Kakashi's face twisted in pain as he struggled to free himself from the blade.

"So you quickly hid the blade within the ground before I came, clever." Kakashi said.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto yelled.

"Don't worry, Naruto, I'll be fine. The wound isn't fatal." He said as he slid the blade out, and formed a hand seal for a grand fire ball jutsu.

Kakuzu backed away immediately to avoid the bursting flames.

"Naruto, pay attention, your moment is coming up shortly." Kakashi said.

Naruto nodded.

"Choji, Ino, you two know what to do!" Kakashi ordered.

The two nodded as they began to drive Kakuzu into the large crater created by Kakashi's fire ball.

"I won't be fooled by you two." Kakuzu said as they masked beast appeared behind them. However, Kakashi appeared in front and kick it away as Naruto jumped up and released a rasengan into the beast's belly. It plummeted four feet into the ground.

Kakuzu smacked Ino and Choji away and began to fall back.

"You're not getting away!" Kakashi said streaming out a summoning scroll. He wiped his thumb across his wound and streaked it along the scroll. "Summoning jutsu!" He yelled as he slammed the scroll onto the ground.

Smoke surrounded him. Kakuzu stared on warily as he waited for the smoke to clear. When it did, he saw Kakashi standing on the same spot, with his summoning scroll still pressed into the ground.

"It doesn't appear you have summoned anything, Kakashi. But I'm sure whatever you have is waiting for me, right?" Kakuzu said.

"Yes." Kakashi said.

Kakuzu's eyes suddenly widened in pain as his body froze. Blood began to drip from every limb as Kakashi's pack of ninja hounds sank their teeth into bone.

"Looks can be very deceiving, Kakuzu, you should have learned that long ago." Kakashi said.

"You…I-" Kakuzu stuttered.

"You refuse to die here? Looks like that isn't the case here. As I said earlier, I'll ensure this is your last mission."

Kakashi began his hand seals as lightning quickly formed into the palm of his hand. He rushed forward with lightning speed and plunged his hand again deep through Kakuzu's right side, destroying another heart. He held it there for a moment before throwing him on his masked beast.

"Shikamaru, hold Kakuzu and the monster in place while Ino and Choji destroy it. We'll finish Kakuzu off after." Kakashi ordered.

The three nodded as Shikamaru performed his shadow net jutsu around Kakuzu and the beast while Choji and Ino jumped beside Shikamaru and threw all their exploding tags at the two. A loud explosion of heat followed shortly after, engulfing the two in a crater sized fire ball.

"Do you think it killed the monster?" Ino asked.

"Probably, the plan was to get rid of the beast and prevent Kakuzu from recovering. Kakashi will probably use Naruto next so we should fall back." Shikamaru said.

The trio fell back beside Kakashi.

"Get ready, Naruto, because once this dust settles you'll be able to use your special attack to finish Kakuzu off.

Naruto at his sensei in awe. "Really, Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi nodded.

"Alright, I'm ready then!" Naruto said.

It took a few minutes for the smoke to clear before they could see the monster evaporate. Kakashi studied Kakuzu for a moment.

"Alright, Naruto, now's your chance!"

Naruto sprung forward on command, producing a shadow clone and began forming a new rasengan. A thin line of wind chakra began forming around his swirling rasengan, forming a shuriken like shape. The clone dispersed as Naruto began to sprint to Kakuzu's mangled body. The shuriken shaped chakra grew larger as its power stirred all dust and debris surrounding it.

Naruto continued forward, waiting for his new technique to gather its maximum power. His jutsu reached its maximum level several feet away from Kakuzu. Naruto leapt high into the air a moment later, his rasengan fully charged, and dived down towards Kakuzu.

"Spiraling shuriken!" He yelled before he crashed into Kakuzu.

A large white blinding light erupted from Naruto's attack as his spiraling shuriken tore into Kakuzu's body like a thousand piercing knives. The white light exploded after a minute, dispersing itself into thin air and blowing Naruto six feet away. Ino immediately ran to Naruto's side and began healing him.

'He's really messed up his arm. Was it all because of his new jutsu?' She thought.

"Are you alright, Naruto?" Shikamaru asked as he and Choji ran to catch up.

"Yeah I'll be alright, it's nothing serious." He said.

"Nothing serious, are you crazy, Naruto? Your arm is badly damaged! We'll have to take you to lady Tsunade immediately!" Ino said.

"I'm telling you I'm fine, Ino, really." Naruto protested.

"And I'm telling you I'm taking you to lady Tsunade, no ifs, ands, or buts, got it, Naruto?" Ino said as she held a menacing fist at him.

"Ah right, Ino, I wouldn't want to doubt your abilities." Naruto said.

"Good." Ino said.

"Hey, where's Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi appeared the next moment beside Naruto. "I'm right here, Naruto. So how are you feeling?" He asked.

"I'm feeling ok, but Ino's insisting I see granny Tsunade." Naruto said.

"Hmm, yes that would be best. Your arm looks pretty torn up. So, Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino, I want you three to take Naruto back to the village immediately. I'll send Pakun to escort you while I finish things up here, ok?"

Kakashi performed his summoning hand seal and slammed his hand onto the ground as Pakun appeared in a cloud of smoke.

"What do you need, Kakashi?" Pakun asked.

"Pakun, I need you to escort the others back to the leaf village while I clean up this mess. I'll catch up with you guys shortly." Kakashi said.

"Right, I understand. Alright everyone, grab Naruto and let' go." Pakun said.

Choji helped Ino carry Naruto as Pakun and Shikamaru lead the way back to the village.

Kurenai joined the group half way to the village. "I watched the battle from a distance. Do you need help with carrying Naruto? How is he?" She asked.

"No we're fine. All we can tell is his arm looks badly damaged. Can you go on ahead and let lady Tsunade know?" Ino asked.

Kurenai nodded. "Yes of course. I'll meet all of you back at the village then."

'Was it really Naruto who defeated Kakuzu?' She thought as she sprinted on ahead towards the village.


	34. Chapter 34: Akatuski Makes Its Move!

**A/N: Well it's another long wait but chapter 34 is finally up guys! Hope you've all been having a great summer! Hope the weather was nice for you guys! We had a bit of a heat wave, wasn't cool but only lasted a week fortunately! Well had to work a bit through summer and made you guys wait 2 months because I was slow at writing new stuff sorry! Also, I had to reboot my computer, because I accidentally delted something it needed, last time I do that with the warning lol so yeah lost everything but thank goodness for the download back up options on there! Yay! Well enjoy!**

Back in the hidden leaf village Tsunade stormed through her usual tedious paper work. As usual papers flew off the top of her desk as Shizune stood behind her chair for protection.

"Um, lady Tsunade, don't you think you should scan through your paper work just a little bit slower?" Shizune suggested.

"Nonsense, Shizune!" Tsunade replied as she flung a paper at Shizune. "There's a huge threat against the village, we're only at half strength and you want me to take my time going through these papers?"

"Well, no, of course not, I'm just saying it's a little dangerous flinging your papers around like that because someone could get hurt." Shizune said.

"What could possibly arise besides paper cuts?" Tsunade asked as she raised an eyebrow.

"Well we all know you and your temper…" Shizune began.

Tsunade gazed at Shizune with piercing, fiery eyes. "Are you trying to say I have a bad temper, Shizune?"

"Um, well, it's just that…um…" Shizune was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Oh, um, I'll go get that for you."

She made a B-line for the door and frantically opened it.

"Oh, Kurenai, back from the mission so soon?" Shizune asked.

Kurenai nodded. "Yes, the others are escorting Naruto to the village. They defeated the two akatsuki member's hut it took a lot out of Naruto.

"Is that you, Kurenai?" Tsunade asked looking up from her last paper.

Kurenai stepped in. "Yes it's me, lady Tsunade. I'm back with a report from the mission."

"Alright, let's see it." Tsunade said forgetting all about her anger.

Kurenai approached and handed her the written report.

"I see, so they were successful. Alright, thank you, you may go now. I'll head to the medical ward and get everything ready for their arrival. Oh, by the way, when do you plan to go on your leave? I can't have you doing any strenuous activities." Tsunade said.

Kurenai smiled. "Don't worry, I'll help out at the academy as we agreed, but I don't plan to leave for several months. I'll give you a month's notice ahead of time."

Tsunade nodded and waited until Kurenai left. She picked up the last sheet of paper work. Her eyes widened. The report was from Jiraiya. She read his report akatsuki's plans and about Tidus. Her last conversation with him echoed through her mind.

"Don't worry; I'll take care of him. I have a feeling he's going to have an important role to play."

'I wonder what he meant by Tidus and his important role. What does he know that I don't and why is this eating at Kakashi?' Tsunade stood up and quietly exited her office and headed downstairs and towards the hospital.

Far away from the Leaf village, off into the thick green forest, Obito and Jiraiya walked silently down the small dirt road.

Jiraiya gazed over at him. "What's wrong, Obito? Didn't you enjoy our little vacation?" He asked.

"No, it was relaxing, after the first night when we went to a different hot spring." Obito replied.

"Pshh, yeah, we had to go to an all men's hot spring down the road after those pretty ladies kicked me out. Of course they loved you." Jiraiya frowned.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Jiraiya-san." Obito replied embarrassed.

"All I'm saying is you've got a special touch with women. They all come to you like moths to a flame." Jiraiya said.

Obito continued to stare ahead of the road in silence.

"So what's really on your mind?" Jiraiya asked after a moment.

"Well ever since I remembered who I really am my mind keeps wandering back to Kakashi-san. We were such close friends then and he was my motivation as a shinobi. I just wonder if I'll ever be able to really tell him who I am, and if we'll be able to re-build the friendship we once shared." Obito said.

Jiraiya smiled. "I'm sure when the time is right, you will. Although I'm sure he'll need some convincing."

"I just have a feeling that it's eating at Kakashi-san too. I could tell when I met him in lady Tsunade's office. So what will we do now, Jiraiya-san?" Obito asked.

"Well the first thing we're going to do is head to the leaf village and then we'll plot our action plan from there. Now that I think about it, we should hurry up. Akatsuki could attack any day now so there's no time to waste." Jiraiya said.

Obito nodded as he rocketed into the trees with Jiraiya towards the hidden leaf village.

Meanwhile Naruto and the gang arrived at the village with Sakura, Tsunade and five medical ninja's waiting for them.

"Escort Naruto to the ward immediately." Tsunade ordered.

The team helped seat Naruto to a bed where Tsunade concluded a fracture arm due to the new jutsu and immediately began healing it.

"I'm telling you I'm fine." Naruto insisted.

"Enough, Naruto, sit still. I'm going to have to place you in a cast for now until your arm heals naturally." Tsunade said.

Naruto sat still for five minutes until Tsunade began placing the plaster on his arm that would harden into a cast.

"You'll be staying here so I can monitor your progress. You'll be released within a week." Tsunade said.

Naruto began to protest but Tsunade cut him off.

"Don't worry, you'll still be able to walk around, once feeling better, but only if you report back here at these scheduled times." Tsunade handed him the time sheet, knowing full well Naruto wouldn't stay long.

"I can even go to the Ichiraku Ramen for lunch?" Naruto asked.

Yes, but you will be escorted by two medical ninja's." Tsunade said.

"What?!" Naruto protested.

"These are my rules. If you want ramen you have to follow them. Besides, we have to keep your movements monitored. Akatsuki will be on the move soon but we won't know when until Jiraiya arrives." Tsunade said.

Naruto bowed his head in defeat.

"Now I've got other work to do so I'll check on you tomorrow afternoon at two in the afternoon."

Meanwhile Kurenai sat patiently by Asuma's side waiting for him to awake to deliver the good news. Asuma opened his eyes after several minutes, waiting for them to come into focus.

"Visions still not at one hundred percent, huh?" Kurenai said softly.

"No, but the doctors say I'm getting better little by little" Asuma said.

Kurenai smiled. "That's good to hear."

"So what are you doing here so late? Is your mission over already?" Asuma asked.

"Yes that's what I came here to tell you about. The mission was a success and everyone made it back safely." Kurenai said.

"I see, that's very good news. So who defeated who?" Asuma said.

"Well Shikamaru went alone against Hidan and defeated him while Naruto and the others defeated Kakuzu." Kurenai said.

"Shikamaru went alone against Hidan, eh? I figured he would, especially after what happened to me. Well I'll have to congratulate them all when they come and see me" Asuma said.

"They all did very well. Naruto was the one with the most injuries of course. Tsunade and the medical team are taking care of him now." Kurenai said.

"Hey, Kurenai, I think we should go ahead and start making plans and preparation now that things have quieted down a bit." Asuma began.

"What? Asuma are you crazy? You've still got a lot of healing left to do, we can't just spring things ahead now, and you'll never recover fully within that time!" Kurenai said.

"Wait, Kurenai, let me finish first." Asuma said calmly.

Kurenai lowered her head. "Oh, worry, Asuma."

"It's alright, don't worry about it. Anyway, what I mean is because it's going to take awhile for me to get back on my feet we could hold off the ceremony until after the baby is born." Asuma said.

"Oh." Kurenai blushed slightly. "Right, I agree, that gives us plenty of time for us to make plans."

Kurenai lightly laid her head on Asuma's shoulder. "I'm really glad you made it out of this mission alive, Asuma." Kurenai said.

Asuma placed his head on hers. "Yeah me too."

Deep within the hollow chamber of the akatsuki hideout, plans for the leaf were already well on their way.

"So it's decided then, we go tonight." Zetsu said.

"Yes." Pein said. "You, Itachi and Kisame shall go together."

"Shouldn't we wend a few more members to keep close by, just in case? This is our last tailed beast after all." Itachi suggested.

"True, but you three should be able to handle the leaf village's forces. If need be, Zetsu can always split himself up to make this a four man mission. I trust that you all are fully capable of completing this mission successfully." Pein said.

All three nodded.

"Heh it won't even be much of a challenge. I probably won't even break a sweat." Kisame said.

"Don't become too over confident, Kisame. You never know who's out there." Itachi said.

"You wouldn't be referring to your little brother, Sasuke? I wouldn't be surprised if he were on his way now." Kisame said.

"I told you before, Kisame, Sasuke is of no concern to me." Itachi said.

"Ha, oh right, I forgot. I guess I was hoping I would get to see if he's gain any skill by now." Kisame said.

"Enough, you three will meet in the front and ready to leave in fifteen minutes. We will await your return here. This concludes the meeting." Pein said.

The group dispersed and Itachi and Kisame prepared themselves for Naruto's capture.

Meanwhile Obito and Jiraiya ran as fast as their legs would allow, desperate to reach the village in time.

"Jiraiya-san, should we encounter akatsuki, should we fight them?" Obito asked.

"If that's what it boils down to, yes. We have to slow them down by any means necessary, even if it costs us our lives." Jiraiya said.

Obito nodded and continued forward in silence for a few minutes.

"That's not a problem with you, is it Obito?" Jiraiya asked.

Obito shook his head. "No, Jiraiya-san, it isn't. I'll fight with you until the very end."

Jiraiya smiled. "Good, I'm glad to hear that."

"Jiraiya-san?" Obito asked.

"Hm?"

"You can summon frogs, right? Well wouldn't it be easier to send a messenger frog instead?" Obito asked.

"That's a good point. I could, but I've lost one that way already. Besides, once we get there it'll be easier for me to explain everything to her rather than have a frog to." Jiraiya said.

Obito nodded. "I see. Yes that does make sense. Hypothetically speaking, what will Tsunade do if Naruto is captured?"

"Hopefully it won't get to that point. If it does she and the other nations will have no choice but to send their best shinobi for an emergency rescue mission." Jiraiya said.

"Do you think the other nations will comply?" Obito asked.

"Hopefully most of them will. The sand will, but we'll need a couple of others just n case. In fact, Tsunade is probably preparing for one right now. She'll have Naruto guarded but it won't be enough. Either way we'll be ready for whatever comes our way, even at the worst case scenario." Jiraiya said.

Obito pondered the thought of sending some kind of warning of their fast approach.

"Oh, I know!" Obito said.

Jiraiya stared at him puzzled. "What is it?"

"I've got something that can warn them of our arrival!" Obito pulled out a small whistle. He lifted his mask slightly and placed the whistle against his lips and blew.

The small whistle produced a loud, harmonious melody that echoed through the night. A few moments later a hawk appeared beside Obito and landed on his arm. He pulled out a small scroll and quickly wrote a message on it, then rolled it up and tied it to the hawk and set the bird free.

"Wow, I didn't know you had your own hawk, Obito! I'm impressed!" Jiraiya said.

"I found the hawk injured when I was a boy and nursed it back to health. I tried to set him free after his injuries healed but he continued to follow me no matter what. So I decided to train him as a messenger hawk, coming only to the sound of my whistle. I never told anyone in akatsuki about him." Obito said.

"I see. Good thinking. I could have summoned a frog if you were that worried." Jiraiya said.

"Yes but a frog would have taken longer. This way the hawk is at our position, so we're closer than your frog would be." Obito said.

Jiraiya nodded. "Good point. Alright, don't get lazy now. We still have to beat akatsuki to the punch and try and break the truth to Kakashi somehow and end his suffering, if only but a little." Jiraiya said.

'I hope Kakashi will believe me when I tell him.' Obito thought.

Back at the akatsuki hide out Itachi and Kisame waited for Zetsu. After a few minutes he appeared from the ground.

"Sorry I'm late. I got a little hungry."

"You're always hungry, and tonight it slowed us down."

"Well a few minutes won't matter. At least now I won't be distracted with food.

"Whatever."

"So are you ready to go, Zetsu?" Itachi asked.

"Yes I'm set to go." Zetsu said.

"About time, I'm sick of waiting for you guys." Kisame said before they leapt off.

'Don't hurry too much, Sasuke. I'll need a bit of time for now, and then you can have your revenge after.' Itachi thought.


	35. Chapter 35:Yes it's true! A NEW chapter!

"I'll meet you two near the entrance of the village." Zetsu said.

Where does he think he's going?!" Kisame asked.

"Calm down, Kisame, Zetsu will join us later." Itachi said.

"Pssh, he better. I want to get this over and done with quickly. Running into specialized jounin like Kakashi would slow us down. And Tsunade's strength could prove to be a potential problem." Kisame said.

"Don't worry, Zetsu will ensure a safe passage for a quick getaway, he always does." Itachi said.

"Yeah I guess you're right." Kisame said.

* * *

The hour was getting late in the hidden leaf village, and Naruto stepped out of the ichiraku ramen shop from a late night dinner.

Naruto stretched and yawned loudly. "Oh man I'm stuffed. All that ramen is making me sleepy. Then again, it is getting pretty late. I guess I should head home."

An ominous wind began to blow as Naruto walked.

"Hmm, this wind feels so strange somehow…and cold. It's probably just me. All this talk about akatsuki must be getting to me." Naruto said yawning loudly once again.

However, Naruto couldn't shake the uneasy feeling of something dark drawing near. Even the trees seemed to whisper his name. He quickened his pace and reached his apartment within minutes. After doing a quick check to help calm his nerves he sleepily climbed into bed.

'I'm probably just being paranoid. Yeah, that's it.' He let his heavy eye lids droop and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

Meanwhile, Guy, Kakashi and Kurenai walked from the hospital after visiting Asuma.

He's really recovering well, isn't he?" Guy said.

"Yes he is, I'm so relieved, but Tsunade says she doesn't want him recovering too quickly. She's even threatened to break a few of his recently healed ribs if he continues to heal at his pace." Kurenai said with a short laugh.

'Yeah and the scary thing is she's not kidding around either.' Kakashi thought.

Guy slapped Kakashi on the shoulder. "So, Kakashi, how about you and I make a little wager on our friend Asuma?"

"Huh, what are you talking about, Guy?" Kakashi asked.

"Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about! Here's the deal: instead of having our little running contest tomorrow, how about we do this bet just for fun? There's no money involved, I promise! I bet you that Asuma won't recover until after Kurenai's child is born! Well what do you think? Isn't it a great idea?" Guy said pointing his finger at Kakashi.

'Hmm this actually sounds interesting this time, and I don't even have to do anything.' Kakashi thought. "Kurenai, when did you say your due date was?"

"Tsunade said in early January, but you two don't have to do this, it's silly of you two to do this." Kurenai said.

"Alright, Guy, I'll take you up on your bet and raise it. I bet you that Asuma will be out of the hospital before then, around December, and that the child will be born early." Kakashi said.

Suddenly Guy's eyes lit up like a christmas tree as fire burned in his eyes. "Alright then it's set! If I lose I'll do one hundred laps around the hidden leaf's village border!"

"Um, yeah, that's not necessary, Guy. Besides, it's a little on the extreme side, don't you think?" Kakashi said.

"Nonsense! Nothing is too extreme for me!" Guy said laughing.

"You'd barely make it." Kakashi said.

"Of course I will!" Guy laughed.

"You'll barely be able to move after…" Kakashi said.

Guy continued to howl with laughter while gloating about his assured victory.

"Are you even listening?" Kakashi asked.

"Ugh, I swear you two are such freaks…"Kurenai said, embarrassed. "I hope both of you lose your wager so you can end this silly rival you hold." 'Although I do hope Asuma can recover enough from his injuries to be home for the holidays, even if it's few days before he needs to go back to the hospital.' She smiled down at her unborn child and quickened her pace to get away from the two bickering children behind her.

Kakashi suddenly appeared beside Kurenai on her right.

"You don't expect us to let you walk home by yourself at this hour, do you?" He said.

Guy appeared on her left. "Yeah we can't just let you walk off while we're around. You never know who's out there.

"Guy has a point, Kurenai. Walking outside the village this late just isn't as safe anymore. There's more dangerous shinobi than before." Kakashi said.

"You two know I don't' normally walk home this late, and besides, I can take care of myself. Or do you think I'm completely helpless in this state?" Kurenai said.

"Of course not, Kurenai, you're just as skilled as any jounin or black ops out there, I'm just saying—"

Guy cut Kakashi off before Kurenai could protest. "Just allow us to walk you home this once, ok? We won't follow you around after, I promise."

"Fine, I suppose I don't really have a choice in the matter." Kurenai said defeated.

"And you said chivalry was dyeing – ouch!" Guy rubbed his head painfully.

The tree eventually reached Kurenai's apartment. Guy and Kakashi waited for Kurenai to close the door behind her before leaving.

"Guy, I want to talk to you about something." Kakashi said.

"Yeah I gathered you wanted to earlier. What's on your mind?" Guy asked.

"Based off of akatsuki's movement patterns according to Jiraiya I think they're going to go after Naruto tonight." Kakashi said.

"Are you sure about this, Kakashi?" Guy asked.

Kakashi nodded. "Yeah, there's only one tailed beast left for them to capture now, and that's Naruto. They're moving fast, trying to collect the nine tails as soon as possible. If it's not tonight it will be during the following – that I'm sure of."

"And you've got a gut feeling about this, don't you?" Guy asked.

"Yeah, Jiraiya did too – when I last spoke to him." Kakashi said.

"Damnit, I thought we might have at least a little more time. Well I'll inform lady Tsunade immediately."

Guy headed off to the east as Kakashi thundered towards Naruto's apartment.

'Please for once allow me to make it there on time. Don't let me be late!' He thought.

* * *

A/N: **So I decided to use lines to break up my sentences from one scene to the next. I thought of it before but never really decided to use it, but it's very useful regardless when reading to ensure the reader doesn't get confused. Also, thank you for waiting till late December for me to update this story. I finished my final exam 2 days ago, hopefully did well. I decided to make this chapter a little shorter than usual (about 2-3 pages short) as I really wanted to update as soon as I could, as I didn't do so earlier. Also when I wrote this last night I was so keen on getting this new chapter up before Christmas that I didn't realize it was 1:30am when I stopped! So, I will update again possibly before Christmas or a little after this month, will see how it goes, but I will upload another to make up for last month, and maybe another this month too but we'll see on that one. Thanks for being patient guys, and here you go so enjoy! Another chapter like I promised you! Also, have a happy and safe holiday and Merry Christmas, and happy New Year! Hope this year has been a good one for you guys, despite any downsides this year may have thrown at you. I hope this year serves you all well, with very little stress I hope.**


	36. Chapter 36: Captured by Akatsuki!

The cold wind began to howl against Naruto's bedroom window as a shadow figure appeared next to him. He stirred slightly and turned his head towards the figure hidden in shadows. His eyes popped wide open as he jumped out of bed.

"Naruto!" The voice yelled.

Naruto screamed and fell backwards onto the floor. Kakashi silently poked his head out into the moonlight.

"Relax it's just me." He said.

"Oh, Kakashi-sensei, I didn't realize it was you." Naruto said rubbing his eye sleepily. "What are you doing here this late at night?" 'Don't you ever sleep?' He thought.

"Your life is in danger, Naruto." "Kakashi warned.

"Huh, what are you talking about?" Naruto asked.

"The village is under the assumption that akatsuki is coming for you tonight!" Kakashi said.

"I don't get it. If they're coming tonight then why didn't anyone tell me?" Naruto asked.

"The word about akatsuki didn't get out until a few minutes ago. That is when I received the urgent letter from Jiraiya." Kakashi said.

"Where is Jiraiya now?" Naruto asked.

"There's no time to explain. Get dressed and meet me outside." Kakashi said.

Naruto was dressed in less than a minute and ran out to meet Kakashi who began running ahead.

"Where are we going, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked.

"To the outskirts of town where Jiraiya is waiting for us. It's not safe in the village right now, Naruto." Kakashi replied.

"Jiraiya is waiting for me? But where will we go from there?" Naruto asked.

"I'll escort you there and then he'll fill you in on everything when we get there but I won't be able to go with you. You must go with him alone; he's the only one who can protect you the best. I will stay here in the village and create a diversion for the members of akatsuki while Jiraiya leads you away. You'll be allowed back into the village once it's safe again." Kakashi said.

Naruto continued to follow Kakashi half asleep towards the end of the hidden leaf village.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked an hour later.

"Kakashi turned his gaze towards Naruto. "Yes?"

"Are we almost there?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah, you trust me, right?" Kakashi asked.

"Well, yeah." Naruto replied.

Kakashi jumped towards the ground as Naruto followed. "Good then wait here." He said walking off into the bush.

"Wait, where are you going, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto called.

Suddenly Jiraiya appeared behind Naruto. He grabbed him tightly before Naruto could turn around.

"Ugh, hey this hurts pervy sage, what are you doing?" Naruto yelled as he tried to scramble out of the sages constricting grasp.

"You truly are the number one knuckled-headed hyper-active ninja, Naruto." Jiraiya said.

"Yes, he's so predictable. I didn't think I'd be able to capture him this easily. Not after his extensive training with Jiraiya." Kakashi said stepping out of the bush.

"What's going on?" Naruto asked.

"It's no use trying to escape, Naruto. You're mine now." Kakashi said.

"Wait a second, this chakra…it feels familiar...wait…you're not Kakashi-sensei, you're…" Naruto began.

"Now he notices, finally. Once again you're too slow, Naruto." Kakashi said forming a hand sign. "Release!"

Kakashi and Jiraiya's images faded out in a puff of smoke and Naruto suddenly found himself tied up in a rope facing Kisame and Itachi.

"Itachi Uchiha!" Naruto spat. "You'll never get away with this!"

"You see, Kisame? I told you it was best to wait until he was asleep." Itachi said.

"Yeah it's hard to be alert when you're half asleep." Kisame said.

"The real Kakashi-sensei will be here to stop you!" Naruto said.

"But you won't be." Itachi began. "By now Kakashi has discovered you're missing from your apartment and has headed off in our direction as we speak. However, he won't make it in time. If only he had realized this sooner he may have stood a chance of making it here on time to stop us." Itachi said.

"Kakashi, help!" Naruto screamed at the top of his lungs.

"It's no use, he can't hear you. You're just too far away." Itachi voice echoed as Naruto heard him utter the words "Mangekyou sharingan."

Suddenly hundreds of Itachi's sharingan eyes appeared before him and whirled around in front of him.

"Now sleep." Was the last thing he heard Itachi say before nodding off into a peaceful slumber.

"Well that was fast." Kisame said.

"We can't afford to waste any time tonight." Itachi said. "Zetsu." He called.

Zetsu slowly appeared from the ground. "Is the boy ready?"

"Yes. He's sedated for now. Hurry, the nine tails could awaken at any moment." Itachi said.

Kisame handed Naruto over to Zetsu.

"Now remember, we need him so don't eat him. If you do, I'll kill you myself." Itachi warned.

"Don't worry, I ate before I came." Zetsu said.

"Hurry up, Zetsu, we don't have much time. They're coming." Itachi said.

"I'll be back in a few minutes once I've dropped him off, I promise." Zetsu said disappearing into the ground with Naruto in hand.

"You really should be more polite to him, Kisame. He's doing us a big favour." Itachi said.

"Yeah well I don't care. I don't trust that guy. I have just wish I could have carried Naruto back myself but I suppose we can stills ay we caught the nine tailed fox." Kisame said.

"All that matters is that we've fulfilled out mission." Itachi said.

"Yeah well let's get started, shall we?" Kisame said.


	37. Chapter 37: Confrontation

The two criminals stood calmly, silently waiting for the ninja who would be the first to learn of Naruto's absence.

Kisame smiled. "Here they come. We should have made a bet of who would show up first." Kisame said.

"That would be pointless because the bet would end in a tie. We both know who's going to arrive." Itachi said.

"Good point." Kisame laughed as he placed his right hand over his sword just as Kakashi leaped down from the forest trees.

Itachi smiled. "We meet again, Kakashi Hatake."

"I knew I'd find you two here." Kakashi said.

"Heh, if you're looking for Naruto, Kakashi, I'm afraid you're too late." Kisame said.

'Damn I knew it! I arrived a moment too late!' Kakashi thought.

"Don't look so down on yourself, Kakashi, you knew this would happen. Neither you nor Tsunade herself could have prevented this." Kisame said.

"I don't suppose you've taken him to a new hide out considering we already found your last one." Kakashi asked.

"You'll have to find that one out for yourself, Kakashi." Itachi said.

'It couldn't have been the two of them who took Naruto. No. If that was the case one of them wouldn't be here. But just to be safe…' Kakashi thought as he quickly lifted the portion of his head band covering his left eye, exposing his sharingan. He looked around the area. 'Just as I thought there was someone else with them because both aren't shadow clones and there aren't any hidden, so…' Kakashi narrowed his eyes. 'Just how many of them were there and are the rest coming back?'

Itachi closed his eyes. "It looks as though you've arrived ahead of your comrades, Kakashi. Not a very smart move for someone facing off with a legendary swordsman and a member of the Uchiha clan who possesses powers of the Mangekyou sharingan."

Itachi slowly opened his eyes. Kakashi panicked for a moment and jumped back.

"You won't trap me with that same move twice!" He said.

Both users' eyes changed at the same time as they cried "Mangekyou sharingan!"

The illusion of Tsukiyomi began once more as Kakashi found himself and a thousand other copies of his image once again perched upon a cross, victims of the many copies of Itachi's holding katanas, ready to plunge them deep into his flesh.

"Three days, fifty-six hours, fifty-six minutes and fifty-six seconds to go." Itachi said with a cold reminder of Kakashi's first encounter with his Tsukiyomi.

Kakashi's arms and legs quivered against the constricting ropes, desperately trying to free himself from his captor's deadly illusion.

"You that struggling will only make it worse." Itachi said as the mirrored illusions of himself plunged the katanas into Kakashi's side, twisting their blades as they dug deeper and deeper into his tissue.

The many Itachi's suddenly paused with their blades till imbedded into Kakashi. The real Itachi looked up and stared at Kakashi's blank face.

"I see. So you were able to avoid my Tsukiyomi and even control the outcome. I'm very impressed." Itachi said as he gazed back at the kunai Kakashi held against his jugular.

"I told you you weren't going to get me with that twice." Kakashi said.

"It's still going to drain your chakra much more significantly using sharingan compared to me, especially Mangekyou." Itachi said.

"You don't need to remind me." Kakashi said.

"So what happens now?" Itachi asked.

"I don't know, you tell me." Kakashi said.

Itachi smiled. "Very well, it's pointless holding this illusion anyway."

Within a second Itachi's Tsukiyomi illusion was dispelled and both stood once again safely on the forest floor.

"Well that wasn't very long at all. What happened?" Kisame asked.

"Kakashi managed to counteract my Tsukiyomi." Itachi said.

"Are you serious? I thought only a member of the Uchiha clan stood a chance against doing something as difficult as that. I guess I was wrong. Then again, I wouldn't have expected less from you, Kakashi." Kisame said with a smile.

"Why don't we stop wasting time and end this here and now?" Kakashi asked.

"Fine with me. What about you, Itachi?" Kisame asked.

"Do it quickly, we don't have much time left now." Itachi said.

Kisame was the first to charge while Itachi followed with his Mangekyou sharingan.

'I see. Kisame tries to distract me while Itachi tries to trap me in his illusion. Clever plan you two. I'll have to do my best and delay their departure until the others arrive. Hurry up guys.' Kakashi thought as he began dodging both Itachi's illusions and Kisame's sword.

**A/N: Well once again it's been awhile. You've waited awhile and so I've decided to make two short chapters and split them up today so that you can read two chapters at once instead of waiting forever for a new long chapter! Believe it or not I wrote these two chapters on no sleep at all! I couldn't sleep so I began finishing writing where I left off with a few lines at about 4am after tossing and turning all night and finished at about 7:11 am this morning! So far so good! So I hope you all enjoy these two chapters and I may begin doing this as cutting a long chapter into two short ones so I can actually get the story updated more often and spend less time writing more! Well I hope you all are having a wonderful summer and hopefully you're having some nice weather! **


End file.
